Asgardians In A New World
by kokosoko
Summary: [AU][OC] During the final moments of her game time in Yggdrasil, Ai spends the last moments reminiscent about the great time she had playing. Instead of logging off before the servers end, she instead decides to spend all of her time left in the game, down to the last second. Instead of a guild built among friends, she resides in the castle of Asgard as the only non-NPC.
1. Chapter 1 - Last Wish

Ai stared at the digital clock, counting upwards to midnight. Tonight was the last day Yggdrasil's servers would run. Her HUD had her health and status bars on display, as well as her quick-cast spells and abilities.

She was Level 100, but only recently was she able to achieve this feat every other player had achieved within weeks of grinding. Yes, she had spent the last 11 years of playtime leveling her character up to Level 95 exactly.

Since she was initially invited to playtest the private beta a year prior to the official launch of the game, she and the other beta testers knew of the secret classes one could unlock by gaining certain levels in a specific class. However, almost all of the beta testers took this secret to their metaphorical graves, as many of them had quit the game by this point.

Although players eventually learned about the existence of the secret classes, it was not popularized enough for players to invest time and energy into them. One had to fulfill certain checks before even getting to the point where leveling the secret class was possible. Even then, the job and racial levels one had to grind through might not have been suited for a game where PVP abilities were largely more relevant.

Pkers, and those who exacted revenge on Pkers, were numerous among the player base, most notably among the roleplayers who looked down on others for playing as a non-humanoid race. Even Ai was at risk of PKers when she was leveling up her character.

Ai's ambitions were aimed at finding the ultimate hidden secret class, one which stood above all others. Indeed, her suspicions were spot on when she deduced the devs had decided to name the game 'Yggdrasil' for a reason.

The [Allfather] class.

As she stared down the clock, she had indeed succeeded in her endeavors. Ai's last 5 levels were spec'd in obtaining the hidden power Odin himself wielded. The devs might have been shitty at balancing the game, but she had to give them credit when it came to the extraordinary detail they had laid hidden.

They had created the game as an exploration-type game, where players could do almost anything as long as they had discovered the means to do so. However, there was an aching pain running through her chest. It was deep regret for not finishing her grand quest earlier. She had finally attained an impossible height, only for there to be no spectators to behold her efforts, nor anyone she could talk to about it.

The game was ending… no, her life's work was ending. The real world she lived in was bleak and devoid of anything joyful. The skies were covered in dangerous black clouds which would rain down acid at any time. Cities were overcrowded, work was as long as it rigorous, and people ignored each other.

Ai was especially guilty of the last one. Her entire experience with Yggdrasil was comprised of mostly a single-player experience. She would level and do quests on her own. Even when it came time to raids and guild wars, she was the sole member of her team. However, she did not mind the solitude.

The hours she had spent preparing for single-player raid clears had earned her renown among the community, and soon, the game's Wikipedia page had a page about her in guides on dungeoneering. The fame came with its drawbacks, however, as many players soon began questioning the devs how it was possible a non-Level 100 player was single-handedly clearing raids aimed for 6-player parties.

She then made the biggest mistake by clearing up the confusion. Although she was not yet level 100, she had a World-Class item she would use during raids. 12 hours after she had posted the response on the community forums, she was relentlessly hunted by treasure seekers and PKers for her equipment.

There was PVP, which required both parties to agree to the terms, but PKers could attack anytime Ai was not in a sanctuary-type area. Soon, the World-Class item was worth more trouble than the usefulness it had brought her.

Ai would soon get another note on her Wikipedia page afterward. She put her World-Class item on the global market for sale, the first ever to do so. The minimum bid was 1000 times the total held in the Grand Bank of Myrkheim, home of the dwarves. She had intended to put an impossible asking price in order to keep the World-Class item in limbo, so she would later become stronger and take it down from the market.

The plan failed 1 minute after the item was publicly listed. 6 guilds had started the bidding war and by the end of the hour, she became the 3rd richest player in all of Yggdrasil. Some would say she had failed her plan successfully. However, she was quite hard-pressed to relinquish such a fond treasure.

She had sold the [Olive Branch of Athena]. When a player equipped the item, everyone in their party would become neutral to all enemy AIs in the game, meaning they could clear raids without having the boss ever attacking once. The gold she gained, however, was able to fuel her blind ambitions in the end. She no longer needed to clear raids for data crystals, as she could now buy it from the open market.

Ai smiled fondly at the memories of Yggdrasil she kept within her heart. This game had become a part of her life. The bleak days and long work hours would bleed into one another, to the point where she could barely differentiate what was happening in her real life. However, if there was one thing the real world had that Yggdrasil did not… it was her mom.

Yes, her mom worked an office job, which soon became a manager job, which also soon became an overseas job. Ai was almost glad her mother had moved overseas to work. She would hate to make her mother cry at the sorry state her life was currently at. Unmarried, no children, no friends, and no ambitions to advance her career whatsoever.

Her real-life was a tragedy, but in Yggdrasil, nothing else mattered. She had achieved the goal she set out to, and that was that. There were tinges of sadness she had no one to share this moment with, but in the end, she had done all of this for herself.

Ai sat on her golden throne, or rather, she was seated upon Odin's. If one were to view her right now, it would be as if a child climbed onto an adult's seat. She had created her character to be that of a young girl. Her original thought was that in a game where PVP was prevalent, some would hesitate to openly strike a small child.

In some cases, this had worked out and she was able to gain a winning advantage against her opponent, but most of the time, players in the PVP scene did not hold back no matter what she looked like.

She had named her character 'Toreii', after finding out all the other names she had wanted were already taken. She had customized Toreii to have the appearance of a 12-year-old girl, with crimson red thigh-length pigtails. However, that was the only thing normal about her character.

Ai had split Toreii's Levels into 40 in racial and 60 in job classes. Due to being a beta tester, she was allowed to migrate her original character over. But, there were keen differences in the races available to players between the beta and the official release. The beta had [Deity] as one of their races – but it was later reworked into the [Divine] class job.

Since she transferred her character over, she still had the racial perks of [Deity], where the most important one was the lack of penalties for spells and abilities which relied on one's karma values. It was due to this non-restriction that she could afford to create such a destructive spellcaster build on her character.

In the last 60 Levels of job classes, 5 were in [Sage], 5 in [High Sage], 5 in [Elder Sage], and 5 in [Eldritch] – the secret job class of completing the entire Sage job line. The [Eldritch] class had allowed her the use of a free Super-Tier spell once a day, which did not cost her mana or put it on cooldown, but cash items could not be used in conjunction with the ability.

Next was 15 levels in [Ragnarok], the highest magical DPS job class in the game which relied on one's karma to determine total damage. If one had positive karma, the spells would do higher base damage to the opponents. If one had negative karma, the spells would have lower base damage, but ignore a certain percentage of the target's resistances. Since she was of the [Deity] race, Ai had the bonus of choosing which effect she wanted from her spells.

After that were 10 levels in [World Champion]. Due to her ability to readily buy data crystals, Ai was able to forge her equipment to the Legendary scale. Having entered the Asgard world tournament, she came out victorious, despite the lack of levels between her and her opponents.

The prize for winning the tournament was a complete set of Asgardian armor which boosted one's base stats to by an unnaturally unfair amount. Of course, Ai had refused the armor, but instead, asked for a prize which allowed her to learn the job classes of the Asgardians.

The devs were initially hesitant on Ai's refusal, but since she had won while also being under-leveled, they honored her request out of respect. Instead of the armor, Ai had received a tome aptly named [Anthology of Asgard], the first of its kind.

With the tome, she was able to learn the most important precursor to the [Allfather] class. Ai could have used it to learn the most sought after job class – [World Forge] – which granted one knowledge of all World-Class items as well as how to craft them. It would have put her into stardom if she learned that, but it was not the path she wanted. Instead, Ai used the tome to learn 10 Levels of [Æsir], the pantheons Odin directly hailed from.

Which left her at Level 95. Ai would spend the next several years learning, researching, failing, accidentally leveling, and most dangerously, dying to reset her levels. Some of her original job levels did not meet the criteria of an [Allfather], which meant she had to lose levels in certain jobs to re-spec into other jobs. Dying meant PKers could spawn camp her, killing her over and over until she had lost all of her levels.

It was only in the last year of Yggdrasil's lifetime that Ai finished her character leveling, but the effort had paid off immensely. The final dungeon in the game was the [Ascension to Odin], which a raid party or guild would have to fight their way upwards from the outer rim of Asgard to the inner circle, where Odin's castle stood.

What had made the dungeon impossible to clear was the fact every citizen was an Æsir. They were a race with supernatural durability and might, and that was just an ordinary citizen. The royal guards were equipped with magical weapons and armor ranging from Ultra-Rare to Legendary. Indeed, the devs had intended for this to be the final fight within the game. Each Æsir was comparable to a level 100 NPC whom guilds would create to protect their bases. Since Asgard was filled with nearly 100,000 Æsir NPCs, players gave up after finding it too difficult to clear just the outer walls of Odin's castle.

However, the guild who had originally bought the World-Class item from her, [Olive Branch of Athena], believed they would be the first and only guild to have the prestige to clear it. With such a lax attitude coming into the dungeon, the guild was promptly wiped out immediately by the Asgardians. Several long pages of complaints were sent to the devs immediately, which outlined how the World-Class item was broken and that they expected compensation for the bug.

A day after the complaints were posted, the devs sent out a reply that was as blatant as it was cruel. "Would you kneel before the symbol of a foreign God? Or would you defend your country according to the rule of the Gods you believed in?" It was another shitty move by the devs in order to keep the dungeon from being cleared. Players concluded the devs cared more about keeping to the game's lore than actually balancing the mechanics of the game.

Yet here she was, the last moments of the game, sitting atop Odin's throne, the Æsirs kneeling at attention. The [Allfather] class had a special bonus perk after reaching 5 levels with it, called [One Above All]. The passive skill treated her as if she was Odin herself, which allowed her entry into the castle without so much of a fight. Instead, she was welcomed by the Æsirs when she first took over the Asgardian base.

The entirety of Asgard was protected by a magical barrier which kept out anything Odin did not allow inside. Also, by sitting on Odin's throne, Ai had a complete comprehension and overview of all of Asgard. The regular NPCs would walk the streets, while soldiers in magical armor would patrol all over the golden city.

Ai looked to the special NPCs who kneeled before her, as well as the single NPC who was allowed a seat beside her. Seated on a smaller silver throne was Frigga, queen of Asgard and wife of Odin. Ai found it incredibly weird the NPC treated her as if she was Odin herself and would sometimes find Frigga waiting in their shared bed chamber. It was most probably due to the backstory the devs had written for her that Frigga acted in such a way, but that did not mean Ai would become more inclined toward the same gender.

She could not help but sigh internally about the fine detail put into the NPCs of Asgard. Beside both her and Frigga, stood another two female warriors outfitted in magical silver armament. They were Valkyries, Odin's personal guards who showed loyalty only to him – therefore to Ai as well. In front of her, the only two not kneeling were Odin's sons, Thor and Loki.

Thor had a warrior's gaze directed intently at her, which she saw through his storming blue eyes. The God of Thunder was very much how he appeared in the original Norse mythology, from his blond hair to the same hammer, Mjolnir, which the ancient being wielded. His stance spoke of the countless battles he withstood and won, but the fresh appearance of his armor meant he had not seen combat lately.

Next to him stood his brother Loki, dressed in an emerald green garb covering his entire body. The outfit looked very pristine, with gold accents laced into an intricate design all over his chest. His head was protected by a golden helmet with horns which almost doubled back into a full circle. When compared to the battle maniac beside him, Loki looked more fit to be a ruler than a combatant.

Behind the brothers were the lesser-known gods, like Lady Sif and the Warrior Three, but directly behind Thor and Loki was Baldur, the only son Odin had with Frigga. That was all the important NPCs Ai could remember at the top of her head. Norse mythology was very old, and mostly forgotten in her time.

There were still several other NPCs Ai wished to meet before the closing of the servers forever. So, getting up from the throne, Ai issued a programmed order to her subjects, "Protect Asgard."

All the NPCs nodded their heads in acknowledgment, which she took as a signal to teleport to another tower within the castle. Her finger had the [Ring of the Æsir] which allowed teleportation through all of Asgard. Similar to how guild members had rings which allowed for unlimited teleportation through the guild's base, this ring had that effect as well as combative stats, which made it all-around the better ring by comparison.

Ai had teleported to the tallest tower inside the castle, which also housed one of the nation's treasures, the [Bifrost] and its sole protector, Heimdall. The celestial overseer was well over twice her height, whose bulky build emphasized his muscular arms and chiseled features. His eyes gleamed with a brightness only a stargazer would have. He immediately began kneeling before her sudden appearance.

It was the third time she had ever visited the guardian, but his presence was that of an old friend. Ai signaled him to rise, and issued what was probably the last command as the Allfather.

"Thank you for your persistence. Please keep watch," she softly muttered. The NPCs could only respond to specific commands set out by the devs, so more than likely Heimdall had only acknowledged the 'keep watch' part.

With that out of the way, Ai teleported again toward a secret chamber within the heart of the castle. Inside, the chamber had an emptiness where the ceiling should have been. The room's walls were decorated in runic patterns etched into the black obsidian. In the center stood a withering tree, whose branches were lifeless, save for 9 leaves.

It was Yggdrasil itself, the Tree of Life, although it looked like it barely hung onto life in the first place. On the tree branches sat two black ravens, Muninn and Huginn, which were Odin's personal information seekers. Beneath the massive tree was an oval golden chamber, almost like a capsule.

[23:56:32]

These were her last moments in Yggdrasil. Since she roleplayed as the Allfather, Ai might as well complete the act. She laid inside as the lid softly hissed shut. The chamber's only purpose was to protect the Allfather during his most vulnerable state: the Odin Sleep, which would be her closing act on the game she was so endeared with.

[23:59:02]

Unbeknownst to her, the Allfather class also had a special skill which could be used when in close proximity to the World Tree… [New World], which was a combination of the spell [Wish Upon a Star] and the World-Class item [Five Elements Overcoming]. Yggdrasil was able to grant the Allfather a single irrefutable wish, which the devs would have to comply with, no matter how unbalanced.

In her last moments, Ai used her wish.

"I wish to see a new world…"

* * *

**A/N:** This is the updated version of the first chapter. Leave a comment about your thoughts or some feedback for me! Anything is helpful.


	2. Chapter 2 - Getting Ready

[23:59:59]

[00:00:00]

[00:00:01]

…

[13:38:42]

Ai felt like she slept well past noon, which was a usual occurrence on her single day off. Today was a day of rest, which she would have normally spent playing Yggdrasil, but instead, she had no idea what she was to do.

Last night was the best sleep she had ever had in her entire life. She did not know if it was because she was extra tired from work that week, or because she was sad her life's work had ended, but her bed made her feel like she was sleeping among the heavens themselves.

She felt well-rested for the first time, as the remnants of sleep still clouded her vision. Ai reached over to what should have been her nightstand where she put her glasses last night. Feeling nothing was there, she felt annoyed as they must have fallen during the night.

'Wait… When did I get into bed?' She mused inside her drowsy mind, 'Did mom come home last night?'

The idea of her mother carrying her back to bed made Ai worried she had disappointed her by the sorry state her life was in. Rubbing her eyes and forcing her vision to clear enough to get a bearing of where she was, she saw the familiar sight of the room she had visited last night in-game – it was, in fact, the exact same room. She was still in the game, as if she had never been forced to log off after the servers had been shut down.

'Was the shut off delayed?' Ai wondered, but the fact she felt like she had a full night's sleep was beginning to worry her. It was as if she was no longer in-game… but the game had become reality itself. Even if Yggdrasil had a sequel which immediately started after the end, she would have been notified.

'The patch notes!' Ai went straight to the most logical conclusion to get her answer. She pressed gently in the air expecting her a menu to pop up, yet nothing appeared. In fact, her entire HUD had disappeared altogether. 'What is happening?!' She was now starting to freak out, her most logical solutions did not seem to be working in the slightest and her options were running out.

She cast a passive spell every player had, [GM Call]. What should have normally come was a message window showing up and indicated her wait time before the next GM was available to see her.

Nothing appeared, and the spell soon dissipated. But she felt a strange new sensation when she cast the spell. She would have needed to cast the spell by clicking on a key which was bound to her hotkeys, but nothing was present… yet she could still cast her spells.

She cast the spell out of sensation and knowing the intended effects. Now that panic had woken her up to an alert state of mind, Ai realized she was not in her body. Her hands were tiny and delicate like a young teen, her outfit now a uniform which a shrine maiden would normally adorn, her hair a bright crimson red. Ai felt the world was smaller as if she had shrunk in height, but there was a deep ebb feeling of magical power flowing inside her.

Ai cast a 3rd tier spell, [Silver Shield].

A reflective saucer appeared out of thin air, which she used as a makeshift mirror. She stared at herself, but her normal reflection did not stare back. Ai looked at 'Toreii', the character she had created. The small child… no, she was the small child. She was her character, not in her real-world body.

The delicate fingers moved about, reaching for her face to feel the realness of everything. Toreii's face was soft and smooth, which was expected of a child. However, her complexion was that of a bright-eyed kid with a warm innocence which would compel any man to rush to her aid.

"Toreii…?" Ai muttered softly. Her voice was quiet, and not her own – coming out with a higher pitch suited a girl a third of her actual age. Mixed feelings swelled inside her, causing her to rack her brain to figure out what was going on.

All the possibilities Ai originally thought of were crossed out in her mind one by one, until only a single outcome remained. The game of Yggdrasil had become real. Toreii had become real. Magic has become real. Which meant the place she currently slept in…

"Asgard is real…" she whispered out loud.

Alarm bells rang inside her head. Although she had her magic, it did not mean the passive skills she previously had were guaranteed to become real as well. She quickly slapped a hand against her mouth to keep herself from screaming in fear.

If she no longer had her [Allfather] skills, then she would have to fight her way through some of the toughest bosses in the game. She might have been able to stall Thor in a 1v1, maybe even defeat Loki as well if they fought alone, but if all of the Asgardians came at her at once, Ai… no, 'Toreii' would have no chance against them.

After becoming the Allfather and making Asgard her defensive base, Ai had quickly learned the golden city was basically a PBE (Public Beta Environment) area for the devs. They had 'tested' out the balancing of certain monsters or raid boss against the Asgardians, which meant Thor would have an idea of how to fight and beat any and all beings in Yggdrasil.

The treasury guarded within Odin's castle was basically the Dev Room, where a copy of every item in the game was stored. This meant every World Item was stored inside, but also every version of the items as well. From the original concept of the item to the final product, including the pre- and post-patch versions, if there was ever a bug or balancing issue.

After her first experience with World-Class items, Ai knew to keep her mouth shut about what she had initial discovered. She had concluded the dungeon was impossible to clear due to the devs not wanting their precious secret treasure room to be discovered, and disguised it as a challenge to the players.

Everything created in Asgard was considered way beyond the field of broken, OP, buggy, or even unbalanced. The devs created the world of Yggdrasil to be on a difficulty scale of 1-10, where ten was the hardest. Asgard was crafted on the scale of a single dev cranking the dial to 11, breaking the knob, installing a new knob which went to 20, and then breaking the new knob trying to twist it beyond what was capable, where he only stopped the cycle once his superior got complaints about his behavior.

'If I die… will I respawn…?' It was a question which bore a hole through her heart and made her stomach churn in a painful way. Her strong grip on her mouth had pressed pieces of metal painfully into her lips, which drew her mind back to what she could still do. 'I still have the ring!' She quickly remembered. The [Ring of Æsir] would allow her to teleport to the edge of Asgard should anything happen. In fact, she could use it now to get out of the castle, the most guarded and dangerous part of Asgard.

"EEEEEEKKK!"

A sudden voice came to her, which caused her to shriek and jump up in surprise. She quickly slapped both hands over her mouth, which elicited pain on her bleeding lips.

"My King, my deepest apologies. Your humble servant wishes to inform you of his grave failure."

It was the spell, [Message], which she often saw players within guilds use. However, there were no other players within Asgard she knew of, yet the voice was a familiar one. She did not know how to respond.

'Is it another player?' Ai mused, 'No, whoever contacted me wouldn't address me as 'King' if it was another player… Maybe the GMs? No, can't be them either. Wait… I was called a 'king'…?'

Sensing the spell was still connected, Ai steeled her nerves as well as her voice. "Why does it need my attention?" She sternly managed to get out. 'Please let me go…' Ai prayed silently in her head. If this was all a dream, she could accept it and wake up at any moment to a world she was missing more and more, as this situation played out.

"It seems my vision has missed something impossible, my King. I can no longer see the 8 other realms. May I ask if you are still within your scared chambers?"

The voice was soft and calm, which reminded her of a single NPC with such a demeanor about him. It was more than likely Heimdall was the one who contacted her, considering the conversation piece that he was talking about.

'It could be a trap… What if he wants me to teleport there and capture me?' The countless experiences she had with PKers had thought her cruel and vicious methods to deal with other players. Anything involving the unknown drew out the pessimist in her, doubting everything and everyone, until she could prepare herself.

Ai racked her brain faster and faster, until she became red in the face from her heavy breathing and dizzy from concentrating too much. 'If I run, he might alert the guards and I would be hunted down…' Ai thought as she formulated a plan, 'I should keep up the act and meet with him, but it has to be somewhere I can escape easily…'

Her plan was coming together. She was the type to run away from confrontation if there was no need for it. In all of her travels within Yggdrasil, she had ensured there was always an escape route, a way to get to said escape route, a backup escape route, a backup-backup escape route, using a cash item-based escape route, preparig legendary items for an escape route, and finally, a World-Class item as an escape route.

'No one has ever died being too careful,' she reminded herself. It was a mantra and oath she took very personally. She was a solo player, so she needed to play like it was her vs. the world at all times. Now was also such a situation. The conditions might have changed and she was thrown into a strange new sensation she did not know how or why, but she was still Toreii, the Allfather.

Ai's mind shifted gears from panic to battle mode. Her caution went through the channels of PVP, then against PKers, and then a permanent death if she was careless. She sensed the spell was still active and acted. "Meet me at the north gate at dusk. Make sure no one else is there. I wish to be spoken with alone."

"At once, my King!"

She felt a new sensation the spell had ended. Ai had to go through with the meeting or be exposed, but not without setting up safety nets for herself first. An hour was ample time for a disaster-planner like her. "Should I raid the treasury…"

There were pros and cons to that prospect. She raised her hand to her chin in a thinking pose, closing her eyes is musing. 'On one hand, I would be harder to take down if I take some of the special armors… but I could die… Some of the items were never released, which means the brothers (Thor and Loki) would not know about the effects… but I could die...'

Ai carefully thought of the items she would take if she was to raid the treasury. 'I could take [Downfall of Castle and Country]... Then I could control at least Thor or Loki and have them protect me… but I could die during the casting…'

The pros of raiding the treasury became less and less, as the pessimistic voice inside her becoming louder and louder.

"That only l-leaves... Odin's armor…" Ai's throat was parched, hurting to get any words out at the moment. She could feel a cold sweat building on her back as she paced back and forth within the room.

Ai would form a rut in the floor that way, had it not been magically enchanted. The two other beings inside the chamber who had watched her from the beginning had their heads go from left to right back to the left again. The black ravens were Odin's personal pets – his eyes, and ears, as well as his personal symbol.

The ravens, Muninn and Huginn, wondered if they should stop their master and ask what was going on, but the moment never presented itself to them. Ai was in deep thought, and they did not want her to snap at them for interrupting.

What Ai had failed to notice was Yggdrasil itself. The last 9 leaves which previously hung from its branches had fallen off. The Tree of Life was dead. The old world was gone as well.

She stopped her fruitless circling with a sigh, eventually going back to the sleeping pod she had awoken from. Ai looked in the reflective glass, watching as tears slowly glided down from the puffy eyes Toreii used to stare back at her. It was only now she noticed the ravens in the background reflection. The pair of ravens were behaving like they were in a panic at seeing her shed tears. Now, her hand felt the old dry leaves which had fallen on her bed.

Ai looked at a single leaf tenderly, like she had a personal connection to it. It was now that the realization had started to hit her. She counted the other leaves which had fallen, totaling 9. All of the browning leaves were delicately held in both her palms. The tears she felt earlier were flowing more frequently now, droplets hitting the decaying shriveled bodies one by one.

"W-wass th-is my fa-fault?"

Yes, she remembered the last thought she had before falling asleep last night. She wished to see a new world, but it seemed the cost was the destruction of the old one she knew of. Ai had wished for the destruction of the world her mom had lived in. Guilt quickly set in, wrapping around her heart, constantly telling her she was the reason her mother was no longer here. If the leaves were still on the tree, Ai might have had some hope she could somehow get back to her old world. But no, she had wished away… no, possibly destroyed the old world with her selfish wish.

Half her heart was stabbed with feelings of mortal longing, but she was no longer just Ai, but Toreii, the first ascended Allfather in all of Yggdrasil. A part of her told to calm down and to assess the situation. Something on the scale of wishing for a world change would either need to have the power of an item, or be linked to a secret class skill.

Toreii had levels in [Allfather], and despite a year of trying to learn everything she could about the secret class, more and more powerful skills and spells would pop up whenever she was near some particular weapons, objects, people, or…

"The World Tree…" she said out loud. If the [Allfather] class had one weakness, it was the incredible long cooldowns involved with its special skills. The minimum wait time for Odin's shortest skills was 100 hours. Since she had used a spell earlier, she knew what it felt like when a spell went on cooldown.

If she had a special skill linked to Yggdrasil itself, she would have felt the ability to be on cooldown after the game became real. So she did something stupid to test out that theory. If she was able to still use her special skill which should not be on cooldown, and then feel how long it would take before she could use it again, it would confirm her suspicions.

"I wish for a chocolate bar!" Ai shouted to the tree.

Nothing happened for a solid minute, which made her want to start the waterworks again, but soon, she heard something fall from the sky, landing softly in her lap. It was a silver rectangle, with a sweet smell filling the air.

Ai was holding back her tears. It had worked… and she was right. After the candy bar appeared, she felt a deep tiredness within her being, like a powerful skill was used. She could feel a passive timer tick down from the cost of using such a divine skill. She would have to wait a year before the skill was off of cooldown. Since she knew for a fact she did not sleep for an entire year plus, she had not been the one to wish away the real world. But that left her with even more questions than before.

If she did not use the all-powerful authority of the [Allfather] with Yggdrasil, how was she in a new world all of a sudden? All the leaves falling off the World Tree meant the 9 worlds were no longer there. But she sensed a new feeling from the tree itself. She walked behind where her sleeping chamber was, and saw a tiny sapling at the base of Yggdrasil's roots.

The tiny sprout of life had a single young leaf growing from it. The 9 worlds had died… and a single new one was born. However, if the old worlds were gone, why was Asgard still here? She went from a game to a real world. Did Asgard also go through the same experience? Questions were piling on the more she thought about the new world.

'Had the other worlds also traveled to this one? Or were all the worlds condensed into a single one?' Those were the questions which bothered her the most. However, there was a single question which bore a deep hole inside her mind. "Did the real world become Midgard? Are we in Midgard now…?"

The black ravens squawked, which jolted her in surprise and broke her train of questions. They had descended from their perch on Yggdrasil and landed on her tiny shoulders. These were giant ravens as tall as half her height, with bright intelligent eyes staring back at her.

The single crow on her left shoulder got her attention and looked toward the digital clock, which was still open on the game window she had from last night. The time was now reading [17:25:57]. If that aspect of the game was still here, then she could still do things from Yggdrasil in the new world.

Reaching her hand forward, she felt out what should have been her inventory. Her hand vanished into a black void, and she could feel the personal items she had previously stored inside before the game ended. Everything was there, organized how she left it, and now she had a perfect mental image of where to feel for what she wanted.

Yes, she needed to face the new world and discover the answers she wanted. In a way, she did indeed get her wish. It was like she was playing a new expansion of Yggdrasil the devs had released. If she thought of it that way, Ai could calm her nerves enough to go through with her plan.

During her time exploring the city of Asgard back in the game, she had left preparations in case a PKer with [Assassin]-type skills had sneaked through the guard's watch and attempted to kill her while she was exploring. There were sigils hidden all over the city located within safe houses she had prepared beforehand. Along with her [Ring of Æsir], she could also use the sigils to safely escape. The [Deity] race she had leveled could make use of sigils drawn into anything, and which symbol she used had different effects. This was also a leftover from the beta she had participated in, which the devs would later rework the sigils into runes which could add additional effects to weapons and armor.

Ai was thankful for Toreii's racial skills. It had calmed her enough to steel her resolve. It was due to the racial skill [Divine Grace] which has kept her within a constant state of calm and rationality. It was a gentle calm, but it did not outright override her emotional state.

She carefully put Yggdrasil's leaves into her inventory space. They were still leaves of the Tree of Life, which meant they could still have some uses for later. The ravens atop her shoulders cooed quietly, awaiting her orders.

Dusk was nearly here, where she would have to confront this new person who had spoken to her. There were no minimap, HUD, [GM Call], or the kind of services a game would provide. Everything was now sensory-based.

She prepared herself for what could be a fight for her life.

[Holy Mantra], [Divine Protection], [Greater Divine Protection], [Body of Effulgent Beryl], [Body of Effulgent Aquamarine], [Body of Effulgent Heliodor], [Negative Energy Protection], [Greater Negative Energy Protection], [False Data], [Greater Elemental Resistance], [Blessing of Flügel], [Blessing of Gaea], [Time Dilation], [Greater Time Resistance], [Eye of Trinity], [Mana Detection], [Lunar Grace], [Solar Shield], [Spell Shield], [Lion's Majesty], [Black Shroud], [Veil of the Ancients].

Ai had buffed herself with the spells and skills she had learned during her 95 levels. She would test out the full extent of her [Allfather] class now.

[Odin's Might].

Immediately, she felt her spell output to be greater than what was normally possible. During her buffing phase, the mana she expended had gradually made her more and more tired, but the sudden burst of energy made her feel like a predator more than prey.

Yes, she was going hunt whoever had dared invade her domain. Asgard was hers, and no one else's. She would kill whoever she had to.

[Life of Yggdrasil].

The Tree of Life glowed before her. The same glow extended past the space between them and wrapped a thin outline around her. It felt as if she were gaining a second health bar. Her body felt more study, less frightened and shaking. Her mind at peace, like the calm before the storm.

These buffs were not without their drawbacks. The first spell had a cooldown timer of 200 hours, while the second had a cooldown of nearly 400 hours. It granted her a great advantage, but she had to win no matter what. These precautions were necessary.

[Odinforce].

This was her final buff, or really the only one she needed from the start. It would double her highest stat, her magical attack, until she exited combat, as well as giving her access to Super-Tier spells she had not learned. Not only that, but their cast times were reduced to 0. However, the spell did not go onto cooldown as the other ones did. It would only start the cooldown timer when she was in Odin Sleep inside the chamber, and even then, it took her out of commission for 1,000 hours.

With buffs out of the way, she began exchanging her equipment for PVP. Of the ten fingers on her hand, two were originally usable to every player, but more slots could be bought with cash items. She saved a month's salary to buy the slot expansion to all her fingers.

Her left hand consisted of:

[Winds of Hermes] – A silver ring with twin serpents which allowed for a fully health recovery once a day.

[Wrath of Helheim] – A black ring which generated a constant freezing aura, impairing the movements of anyone who got too close to her. This also included any attempts to teleport beside her, which was basically a free [Delay Teleportation] with a bonus effect without the mana cost.

[Wisdom of Solomon] – It was an artificial intelligence-type equipment which communicates telepathically. She had stored a library's worth of knowledge into the ring, which included the 6,000 castable spells in Yggdrasil.

[Ring of Æsir] – It allowed for unlimited teleportation within Asgard, with a single additional effect of 11 bonus mana, enough for a 10-Tier spell.

[Ring of the World Champion] – It was originally a decorative ring give to the World Champions to verify their victory, but had data crystal slots she added to make it a Legendary-Tier ring. She used a data crystal which allowed her to add percent max health damage as a bonus effect to 3 of her damaging spells daily.

Her right hand was now equipped with:

[Ashes of Ra] – Single-use self revive which gave damage invulnerability for 10 seconds after resurrection.

[The 10 Commandments] – A utility-type ring which allowed the storage of 10 spells, with the strongest spell stored limited to Tier 10. Inside, she had put defensive and time delaying spells like: [My Body as A Shield] – 8th Tier, [Wall of Permafrost] – 9th Tier, [Greater Teleportation] – 7th Tier, [Perfect Unknowable] – 9th Tier, [Time Acceleration] – 9th Tier, [Time Stop] – 10th Tier, [Perfect Warrier] – 8th Tier, [Blood of Gaea] – 10th Tier, [One Day of Peace] – 9th Tier, [Light of The North Star] – 8th Tier.

[Eye For An Eye] – It was a novelty ring which switched a player's physical stats with their magical stats. Since most players optimized for either a spell caster build or a melee build, the ring was a niche at most.

[Piety and Penitence] – A silver ring which sacrificed half of her current mana to create a holy wall of light capable of blocking a single attack, spell, skill, or non-World-Class item.

[Fountain of Youth] – A World-Class item which fully restored her health and mana, as well as removing all negative debuffs.

After her fingers, she equipped the Asgardian World Champion armor underneath her shrine maiden robes. Although she originally rejected wearing it, she had found the devs had stashed it within the treasury. Since no one else was capable of using the armor, Ai figured she might as well take it for her own, although she did feel guilty about it afterwards.

Since the devs introduced a glamour system into the game, she one could remove the data from a set of armor and wear it on top of her actual equipment without consuming the slot. Although in-game a player could see the equipment their opponent had through a side menu, there was no such menu now that she was in the world. The lack of appropriate battle attire might lower her opponent's guard just enough for her to land a decisive blow.

Lastly, she held up her right hand and issued a single command in her mind. A soft metallic ringing echoed in the emptiness of the ceiling. In the total blackness above her. a sliver of light could be seen twirling towards the ground. The object quickly accelerated downward, its pointed tip gleaming despite the blackness around it.

Ai's hand soon took hold of the weapon which appeared out of nowhere. It was a spear which could only be wielded by her, or more specifically, the Allfather. The obsidian chamber reverberated despite being made of the hardest material in the castle. Panicked cawing came from the ravens as they flew down onto the ground in reverence of the Allfather.

[Gungnir] answered its master's call. Its shaft was carved from one of Yggdrasil's roots and had arcane Nordic sigils engraved within the wood, which then had Uru metal poured into the grooves. On one end, it had a small golden tip in the shape of an arrowhead, while the helm of the spear shone with a prismatic radiance. The larger end was made from the core of white dwarf star, casted in the form a sharp 'V'.

The data for the spear was enormous, containing more lines than the entirety of Asgard minus the NPCs. If she were to gauge its power, it would be a World-Class item among other World-Class items. Yes, this was a weapon which stood above all others, because of one single special ability.

[Gungnir] could break and destroy other World-Class items and nullify their effects. That alone should have pushed it into a new tier of an item, but the game had ended before anyone could see the power of the spear unleashed.

Ai would not put the name of the [Allfather] to shame. nor will she let herself be defeated after wielding the might of Asgard itself. The ravens jumped back onto her shoulders after sensing her unyielding spirit for battle. The [Ring of Æsir] activated, and she soon found the scenery changing to the murky red and orange hues of the setting sun.

She stood in the middle of a lone road cobbled with hexagonal brick and mortar. The city was being lit up with radiant light behind her, as she observed her bearings. The path she was on lead to the heart of the city, as well as to the northern gate of the magical barrier. Ai turned her head towards the stone walls and allowed herself a silent sigh.

Stabbing [Gungnir] into the ground with her right hand, Ai was still holding onto a silver wrapper in her left. She unwrapped the chocolate bar given to her by Yggdrasil. It pained her to have used a magical wish-granting tree capable of changing the world itself as a food delivery service. Breaking a tiny corner off, she rewrapped the rest and stored it away into her hidden inventory.

Ai was human, but Toreii was a [Deity]. 'Do gods have taste buds?' It was not like she became undead, but merely ascended. Toreii was not unlike how she was. They were both female – Ai thanked her lucky stars for this aspect – they both felt warmth, could shed tears, and feel human emotions.

Now was the ultimate final test to see if she still retained all of her humanity.

'Do I still like chocolate?'

Gently bringing the small square piece of cocoa goodness to her lips, Ai let it sit above her tongue. She loved letting the heat of her mouth melt the chocolate into a creamy consistency, and having it flow slowly all her taste buds.

It was heavenly… divine, even. It was the perfect richness which was gentle and not overwhelming. Tears had formed again on the corners of her eyes. Despite how excellent the piece of chocolate was, there was one thing which stood above all the other quality. It was familiar, nostalgic… and familial, too.

Ai wiped her tears away before they could fall again. What she tasted were her memories of her childhood – of the same chocolate her mom had bought when she was a child. Chocolate was a luxury in Ai's youth. The fact that her mom was still able to get her some, despite the scarcity of it, had made Ai very happy.

Toreii grabbed the spear and began her march toward the magical barrier. She had made a promise to herself. No matter who she faced or what happens in the future, Ai will definitely reach her new goal in this new life.

"I'll find you, Mom!"

'I hope...'

* * *

**A/N**: I hoped I cleared up some confusion from last time. If I haven't please feel free to tell me. Planning the story is still a chore and I hope you will bear with me until I can make it more coherent. Any suggestions or paths you wish to see would also be great to give me an idea for future chapters. Thank you for reading.


	3. Chapter 3 - First Encounter

Toreii's Base Stats:

HP: 10

Mana: 145

Physical Attack: 1

Physical Defense: 1

Agility: 90

Magical Attack: 500

Magical Defense: 1

Resistance: 1

Special Ability: 100

Character Description: Ai had originally intended Toreii to be a protector/healer type character. She wanted to roleplay as a gentle and kind Goddess that came to the aid of others. However, when Yggdrasil was revamped and launched, her beta experiences were laughed at for having such a wishy-washy idealistic view of the game. PVP was king and there was no other way around that. Although there were Elven/Druid guilds that were into the roleplaying aspect, they too had to build damage in order to clear raids and defend during guild wars. So, Ai decided that if there was no point in being a kind, pure healer, then she would show the world the cruelty of a fallen Deity.

Toreii's gait was synchronized to her heartbeat, not too fast and not too slow. Her breaths were steady, with her vision locked straight forward and her chest held high. She gripped [Gungnir] lightly, feeling the seamless, cold metal sigils against the finely sanded wood of the shaft.

The ravens that adorned her shoulders shifted frequently since she left her bed. Muninn and Huginn have been with the Allfather at every battle and through every realm. Even during the razing of Niflheim, the home of the frost giants, they withstood the 1000 year siege.

Every day, they flew hundreds of leagues to glimpse any information for their master. The unrelenting winters of Niflheim made the air they flew through cold enough to freeze the blood of any unprotected animal. Their sleek black feathers would become coated with frost, making them appear as if they were doves. Even if their feathers become brittle from overexposure to the cold, even if they had to fly through enemy territories, even if they were to lose their lives, death was preferable to failing their duties to the Allfather.

Despite their unyielding loyalty, the cold air they felt around their Allfather made them uncomfortable. Against Surtr, The World Ender, their Allfather was a beacon located at the eye of the storm. Against, Thrym, The Frost Giant King, against Hel, Ruler of The Dead, or against the dark elves, the Allfather fought with the attitude of a victor.

Be it pride or arrogance, Odin stood above everything else, atop the seat of the mightiest. However, their Allfather was different today. Muninn looked to his brother on the opposite shoulder. Although both of them have seen the devastation war had wrought through the 9 Realms, they could not stop their feelings of agitation caused by the caution that their Allfather showed.

After coming straight out of the Odin Sleep, they witness their master ready for war immediately. However, it was the lack of the Allfather's Valkyries that made both ravens unable to sit still. Thor, the mightiest warrior, the bravest Asgardian, Odin's favorite son, was also not beside him.

Did the Allfather consider Thor too weak to confront the coming enemy? Muninn and Huginn could not control their imaginations. They bore witness to Thor's victories against giants, dragons, trolls, demons, the undead, and every other living being imaginable. If the Allfather deemed it unsafe for the Heir of Asgard to confront, then this could be the last battle for Odin and his ravens.

Death in battle was an honor, so Muninn and Huginn did not mind falling as long as it was by Odin's side. Thus, they began preening their coats. Just as their Allfather cast spells before a battle, so did they.

Unlike Odin's divine magic, animals had wild magic that drew from nature. However, being connected to the Allfather meant that Muninn and Huginn were a special case, in that they could use both. They buffed themselves as their master did.

Toreii did not slow down the slightest. Physically, she was in peak condition, but Ai was in a troubled state of mind. Each step forward made Ai consider if it was too late to go back to bed and bury herself in sheets and darkness. Toreii was a Deity that was among the higher echelons of the PVP community, while Ai was a graduate teacher's assistant at a local university.

Ai was glad no one knew of her life outside of Yggdrasil. She was a clumsy woman that often misplaced important documents like student projects or budget reports that went to her superior. Her terrible vision which required glasses to even navigate, caused her to get lost easily or misread important emails without them. Her students would often give her words of encouragement, reassuring her that anyone could grow out of being clumsy.

Each day was the same for her - get to the university early, prepare the lecture notes, organize the professor's schedule, see students in office hours, have lunch by herself, and sit in the back of the classroom to observe. This was her 8th year after deciding to continue her education. She should have been moving on to becoming an actual professor, but that required her to be reasonable and likable, given the complaints she had overheard from students about their professors.

Ai did not dislike talking with others, but if she could, she would rather do anything else like staring at a wall for hours or watching fresh paint dry. She thought that by playing an online game with other people, Ai could learn how to properly interact with others.

However, old habits never die.

The glow of the eternal city was dimming. The Norse-like architecture that every chiseled home had was nowhere to be seen, replaced by flower meadows and fields of maple trees. The bright street lights that lit the pathway became old torches that flickered through the air. The warmth of a busy city could no longer be felt and her soft cheeks become rosy against the night breeze. Now she was a good distance away from the city.

"Watch the rear. Inform me immediately if someone is here."

Toreii could give simple enough commands to the NPCs and they would understand. However, the ravens were more lively than what they have previously been in Yggdrasil. She did not know if there was an update recently that added new animations to the animal summons, but the ravens were moving and reacting in a way that Ai did not see before.

Muninn and Huginn both took to the sky. Their accession was silent and their black feathers perfectly blended with the night sky. It was the first time that Ai could see the sky since moving to Asgard. Normally, since she explored within the city, the sky was always murky from the light of Odin's castle.

Now that she was away from everything, Ai saw the sky for the first time. It was beautiful in an impossible way. The skyline had specks of tiny balls of light that were littered everywhere. Some were bright and were shining intensely against the blackness surrounding it. Others were of different colors and shapes, like blue dots or red dots or green prisms.

Ai had only seen this rarity in her textbooks. Her eyes were locked on what she read was a 'Starry Night'. There were many paintings and pictures that she saw during her trips to museums and the library, but seeing it in person was something else.

Toreii's breath was quicker now and she felt her blood rush to her cheeks and ears. With her open hand, she reached out to the sky. She gently closed her hand shut, like she could touch and catch the stars themselves.

"Beautiful, aren't they?"

Ai wanted to mutter back, _Yes_, but Toreii pointed [Gungnir] immediately at the source with her right hand and readied a spell with her left. Her eyes were locked on the unknown man that spoke to her while her ears were attuned to her surroundings. She could hear nothing but the rustling of leaves among the trees and the occasional bug that buzzed.

In-game, Ai was used to hearing the preset battle sounds and BGM. However, voices only came from other players and not any NPCs so that people were able to tell what was VR and what was real.

The problem was that this was a new voice that she heard. It was completely different than the one she heard earlier and talked to. However, the biggest issue was that this person was able to sneak past even the ravens that she had just sent out to watch for others.

"I've never seen constellations like these before. I hope you don't mind if I take a moment to record this?"

Ai watched the unknown man bring out a stone tablet and chisel underneath his well-worn robes. Having appeared out of nowhere, he was sitting below a torch post where the light was enough for him to inscribe onto the tablet.

He had unkempt brown hair as if he had just gotten out of bed. His hearty beard was brown as well, with bits of grey hair everywhere, including his head. The man's build was not slim, nor was it muscular. His belly did not grow round, but his big frame suggested he was somewhat eating right. The robes that he wore looked like its original color was some shade of yellow, but with age and wear the discoloration made it a murky brown instead.

_He looks like a hobo… Does Asgard even have any hobo NPCs…?_

"What's your business here vagabond?" Toreii tried to question with a stern voice, but her cute and young appearance would not let her words sound menacing.

"V-Vagabond?!" The man scoffed like he had taken offense to the label, "Surely you would not put an educated prophet in the same league as you would a homeless man?"

_Then why are you dressed like you're a homeless man in a bathrobe?_ Ai wanted to retort.

Instead, Toreii spoke in Ai's stead, "Speak your name."

The man raised an eyebrow in puzzlement. His tone thus far was quite informal, like the two of them should know each other. Nevertheless, he answered to his master.

"Solomon the Wise, at your service!" the homeless man proclaimed to Ai with a gleeful smile and a deep bow.

_My ring?! The AI in my ring became real?! Isn't this the stuff of movies…?! Why is my AI a homeless man?! Wasn't Solomon a king or something…? Why is he homeless… Ahh… My head hurts… _

Despite not having access to her human body anymore, Ai could feel an imaginary pressure build up inside her head, like the beginning of an oncoming migraine. She had once felt the nausea of a building migraine during her interview with the board of education. It was not as bad as that time now, but she still felt a phantom pain within her imaginary stomach, like she could puke at any moment.

"Why have I not seen you in this appearance before?" Toreii asked, with [Gungnir] still poised. Ai was glad that she picked a non-human race for her character. Toreii was unaffected by the phantom pain that assaulted Ai's mind, which she was thankful for, but at the same time was angry that she alone had to suffer through it.

Recovering from his bow, the aging man looked at Toreii with downcast eyes. "That… I do not know…" Solomon honestly answered, "Ever since you put on my ring, it felt like I was in a different world with a different set of rules…"

Ai could not fault him for not knowing. She did not know either, so a continued questioning would not get her any further than what she knew now. However, that did not clear the strange man of her suspicion.

A player could be pretending to be Solomon and acting the part to get her to lower her guard. If that were the case, anything that the man said had to be taken as a lie until she could confirm anything he said.

"Patch notes 3.0.7, line 37-48, what were my notes about that update?"

Albeit taken aback at the sudden question, he answered immediately for his master, "Shitty dev entry #147, advertising the use of cash items as a workaround for players that get stuck trying to get out of certain areas. Also, the client is slower than usual today, which made patching and logging into the game take twice as long."

_That is definitely my notes about the patch… but did I really call it 'shitty dev entry'?_ Ai did not outright hate the devs, but she felt that a Q/A team would have greatly improved the community relationship with the devs.

Easing the pointed tip of [Gungnir] away from the hobo, Toreii still had her ears pricked to any other sounds besides their conversation.

"Does anyone know you're here?"

Solomon stroked his beard with a hand, recalling previous events, "I do not believe so. Because you are the only one with my ring, my knowledge and wisdom belong only to you. I was with you and your ravens, but they did not seem to notice my presence. Therefore I can conclude that only you are able to see and hear me."

Since Toreii had a mental connection to all her summoned creatures, the ravens would have also noticed Solomon. She sent a mental question to the ravens to confirm Solomon's answer. With their view from above, all they were able to observe was that she was alone on the pathway. Noticing that her time was running low, she had to accept the limited amount of confirmed information. Not giving the hobo a second glance, Toreii continued her pace toward the outer wall.

She tightly squeezed the wooden shaft of her spear, feeling the heat of her hand against the cold, magical Uru metal. It had become a new habit of sorts when she had to think about uncertain things and talked to the spear like it had a consciousness of its own. However, since the game became real, she could actually feel an actual connection to the weapon, like she could converse with it and understand the spear's intentions.

More questions began filling Ai's head like, _How did an AI device gain a body and sentience? Did everything become real? Not just the game…? If a ring can gain a consciousness… Are the NPCs real now too?_

The questions kept piling on, and the more curious she became the more she felt shivers run through her body. Now that she was approaching the wall, she could find answers to her questions.

The walls were well above 50 meters in height, which encircled the entirety of Asgard. The inner walls were reflecting the orange glow of the torches due to the constant maintenance that was performed on the stone. Stonemasons lead by dwarves would come daily to polish and fix sections of the alabaster walls. The magical barrier just outside of the walls was generated by Odin's throne. As long as there was an Allfather, the magical protection around Asgard would remain.

Toreii's view locked onto a man with gold Asgardian armor. _Well, at least it's an NPC… How did this one get all the way out here…?_ Normally the NPCs were on set routes programmed by the person that made them. Unless otherwise ordered to move from their preset destination, NPCs do not move on their own, especially to the edge of Asgard.

Upon drawing nearer, Toreii froze in her tracks. The man began to kneel in her presence, but she knew the importance of this NPC. Ai's guess earlier about the person speaking being Heimdall was correct, but because she was correct that her internal alarm bells were going off one by one.

"My deepest apologies, my King. I know the importance of the Odin Sleep to the continued prosperity of Asgard, but I would not have asked an audience with you unless Asgard itself was in grave danger."

_Is something going to attack Asgard? Did the devs program a doomsday event in for Asgard…? Wait… Ragnarok… The NPCs wouldn't know about Ragnarok… But we aren't in Yggdrasil anymore… The 9 realms are gone. Can an event in Yggdrasil happen in this new world?_

The childlike face of Toreii remained unchanged, a paragon of calm, but inside Ai wanted to crawl back into bed and forget about this entire ordeal. _Today is my day off dammit! I shouldn't be forced to think this hard… Even if I did get onto Yggdrasil today I didn't want to spend it clearing the Ragnarok raid again… What a pain… _

"...Ragnarok…" Toreii accidentally muttered out loud.

What she had originally observed as a gentle, calm guardian vanguard, now appeared as a wide-eyed soldier freshly off the greens of basic training. _Ehhh…? Did I somehow scare him…? I guess Heimdall is supposed to die in the original Ragnarok… _

"Is it t-truly so, my King?" Heimdall's voice sounded low and small, which was unbefitting of someone as big as his build, "Has Ragnarok…" His voice trailed off unable to finish the sentence.

Ai was able to confirm 4 things about the NPCs of this new world:

Everything that had intelligence was now alive and acted like real people.

The memories of the NPCs is whatever was last programmed into their backstories.

Toreii's Allfather levels had transferred over and she was still considered Odin to all NPCs.

The NPCs of Asgard do not know that Yggdrasil was a game.

_Should I consider the NPCs of Asgards as hardcore roleplayers…? If I do, they will more than likely follow their programmed mythology. But… _Ai had skimmed through the backstories of the NPCs as well as created spreadsheets for their abilities and skills before the game ended, storing the information inside of her ring. _What would the NPCs do if Ragnarok never happens?_

"W-what are your orders for me, my King?" Heimdall asked. He broke the silence a minute after the Allfather announced the end of Asgard. In all of his wisdom and foresight, only Odin and Mimir were above himself. If the King of Asgard came alone without bringing anyone else, then it meant that the details of their discussions are to not leave this secret meeting.

_Hmm… Eh? Orders? _Ai had cleared the Ragnarok raid dozens of times, so she had an idea of what to expect when it came to the raid bosses that the Asgardians would face, down to the smallest detail. The raid was a continuous onslaught of raid boss after raid boss that was meant to whittle down the party's resources and stamina, but most raiding groups were efficient machines that always brought optimized gear and items.

Ragnarok was a war of attrition, which was why as a solo player, Ai had to use lots of cash items in order to sustain herself in between the raid bosses. The fun of raiding was learning the movements and moveset of each boss. Even wiping to an unlucky critical strike was a learning experience which as an educator, Ai was very fond of. However, after the 5th or 6th time clearing the same bosses, the Ragnarok raid lost its charm.

_Still, I guess the NPCs of Asgard would get scared if the devs had programmed them to know their deaths were inevitable. Hmm… What should I do?_

Ai continued her internal musing, while Heimdall was dripping with sweat from his brow down to his chin. He has always kept watch inside of Asgard, so he relied on his cosmic vision to watch everything else. He only knew of 2 other beings in existence that could foretell the final outcome of Ragnarok.

Yet, despite knowing his own death would be coming, the Allfather before him was unnaturally calm. He could not see any change in his King's attitude after announcing the fall of Asgard, nor could Heimdall read any negative emotions from Toreii's facial features.

"...How boring…" Toreii sighed out loud. She pinched the bridge of her nose out of habit, softly rubbing her temples, like she used to do in the real world.

Heimdall felt a cold chill down his spine, like his audience with the Allfather was also joined by the Death Goddess, Hel. His back grew wet from the cold sweat that quickly set in. His grey eyes which were protected under his helmet were pin size in the sheer awe of his King's indifferent attitude.

"M-my Ki-King?! P-Please spare your u-unworthy servant! What ex-exactly is your will? "

… _Hmm…? Oh… Well… I guess… _ "If Ragnarok does come I'll just have to clear it alone." … _Again… Ugg… _ _My cash items… I can't go using them like I could just spend next month's check on new ones…_ Ai internally sighed.

Heimdall looked away, locking his vision intently onto the ground before his Allfather's feet. Incomprehensible, unreachable, a true supreme being. These were the only things that someone beneath the Allfather could feel about the King of The 9 Realms. Heimdall understood that now. He once considered his foresight comparable to Odin's own, but that notion was bitterly crushed. He hung his head low in shame. That was all he could do after getting such a matter-of-fact answer.

To face certain death, not only his own but an entire nation's. The Allfather would shoulder the burden all by himself and only allow himself to bear it. How could Heimdall even consider himself worthy enough to be in his presence? To even consider himself to be on par with such a peerless supreme being. _Pride and foolishness,_ Heimdall chided himself. His body felt numb, the cold feeling from earlier spreading throughout his body.

_Is Heimdall alright…? Did he eat something bad earlier? Ah… I haven't eaten today either… What should I do about dinner? Instant ramen again? Is it too late to go shopping for ingredients…? How late do the supermarkets in Asgard open till? … Is there a supermarket in Asgard…? Does an Allfather do their own grocery shopping? Oh… I guess I am a king now as well…_

Ai's train of thought derailed entirely. The most responsibility she had was watching over a small class of students, not a nation of people that all depended on her.

_Shit shit shit shit shit… Stay calm… It can't be much different from those resource management games… _Ai played many strategy games during her lunch break, but games and real life are two different things, at least they were before today.

"MY KING! STAND BACK!"

Toreii's vision was covered by Heimdall's backside. The vanguard had spontaneously jumped into action, standing in front of her to be her shield. Her ears picked up the faint flapping of wings in the cold night air. Several sets of wings could be heard in the distance beyond the magical barrier.

Then she heard more sets of wings in the distance, the number growing more and more each second. Her Deity racial levels had [True Vision] as a passive skill, which was boosted even more by the Allfather's [Sight Beyond Sight]. Not only could she see perfectly in the dark, but she could also see the magical aura of other beings. It gave her a great advantage against other magic casters during her PVP days, where she could perfectly see their magical capabilities.

Through her magic sense, Ai could guess that the flapping came from dragons. However, the cluster of dragons continued to grow. _Is this some kind of dragon migration? Maybe a nest?_

Among the colony of dragons, Toreii felt the ever familiar mana aura that she often saw in Yggdrasil. A player was hiding among the dragons. Unlike with the NPCs whose magic auras were more controlled, players had auras that were chaotic in nature. However, this magic aura was not unlike the dragons she was feeling, just bigger and foreign to anything that she had dealt with before.

**BOOM ****BOOM** **BOOM**

The skyline behind her lit up. Blue streaks of light roared through the sky as a thunderstorm of cosmic proportions formed over Asgard. Her hair stood up against the electrically charged air. The once clear night sky was completely covered in black clouds, lightning jumping from one cloud to another. Her ears rang with the static crackling of thunder.

"The Odinson cometh, my King."

Between a player with a horde of dragons and Thor, she would rather face the former, or rather Ai would pick a horde of dragon players on any bad day compared to dealing with Thor. Having Thor be the one to explore the new world was a nightmare waiting to come true. If Loki was like a surgeon with excellent skills with a scalpel, then Thor was a nuclear bomb that never stopped going off. The last thing she wanted was for Thor to see a new world where he could test his strength.

"**No one** is to leave Asgard without my permission!" Toreii shouted from the bottom of her lungs, rasing [Gungnir] to the heavens as she did so. The divine spear glowed in a majestic hue of colors as did the tallest tower in all of Asgard.

"PLEASE WA-"

Toreii remotely activated the [Bifrost] with [Gungnir]. Every NPC within Asgard was shrouded with a white light, including Heimdall. The city as well as all of its citizens vanished in a trail of light and dust.

With her [True Vision], Toreii watched her surroundings before the dragons can get a chance to make their move. Asgard had appeared floating above a mountain range, where snow was currently falling beneath her. The mountain tops were jaggaged like the fin of a fish, and completely white from the winter snow. Lines of hibernating trees were all over the mountain, which at the base contained a lake that spanned almost as big as a sea did.

Deep within the lake, she could see something within stirring, like several serpents were trying to uncoil themselves from each other. However, her magical sense only detected a single being within great lake. Whatever was down there rapidly broke through the surface of the lake, screeching an ear bleeding wail, causing more dragons to fly upward towards her.

The space that the city once occupied was soon filled by every form of dragonkin that Ai knew of, from regular dragons to faerie dragons, including wyverns, tiamats, leviatians, wyrms and drakes. This was not an ordinary gathering of dragons. Something had gathered and united all of dragon kind and that something was quickly approaching her. Although she had originally thought it was a player that was among the dragons, she was mistaken.

A hydra, 1/10 the size of the city of Asgard flew from beneath her to confront her directly. Instead of many heads that were the same, the hydra had a single head for every kind of dragon that there was. There were heads that were just bones - others were bones with fire that burned through every nook and cranny - some heads were wood with water spiralling along the neck - one head had no eyes while the one right next to it had thousands of eyes all over it - another head was made completely of stone with another made out of water or fire or air or electricity - some of the heads were even made of all the elements combined. However, the biggest head, the one that stretched out the longest and met her gaze back was an ethereal head, like it had transcended the bounds of the mortal realm.

Its black body was armored with thick hardened scales that were barbed with spikes. Instead of a normal set of arms and legs, it possessed 3 sets of forearms whose muscles were bulging underneath its serpent body. With no hindlegs, his long tail wrapped around the hoard of dragons several times before eventually disappearing into the landscape below.

After the city vanished, Toreii was left flying mid air, well above the cloud line. However, the ancient hydra's upper body broke through the cloud cover while his kin kept circling them. What surprised Ai was the word choice that the voice spoke to her.

"**IMPURE FILTH! I will cleanse this world of your kind!"**

All the heads spoke in unison, each with a different voice, but the malicious intent was clear as day. There were well over a thousand heads on the hydra, but Ai's thoughts ran through her memory, searching if there were any hydras in mystical history.

A sweet, gentle female voice came from behind Toreii, which caused Ai to mentally jump in surprise. It was what she had dreaded, an Asgardian being left behind. It wasn't that she was worried for the safety of the lone straggler, but what the NPC would do in this new world.

The air rang from the metallic unsheathing of a blood crimson sword drawn by a warrior clad from head to toe in platinum. The protective armor had runes that increased its base stats, but also had sigils that Toreii had personally put on there as well which gave immunity to many status effects.

What Ai had feared the most was the sword that was pointed at the hydra. [Rungnir], the hellish sword born from the same dwarf star the bore [Gungnir], and the only weapon to have the same amount of data as Odin's own.

If [Gungnir] was created to be an anti-world-class item weapon, then [Rungnir] was created to be the best world-class item. The demon sword was a mid range broadsword, but instead of a single long blade, the sword was hollow down the center, splitting the blade into two small swords that merged at the hand guard. The crimson red coloration came from being forged within the hellfire that burned inside of Surtr's own skull.

Ai considered [Rungnir] to be the ultimate world-class item because of its special interaction with other world class items. The sword could negate and store the effect of the last world-class item used against its bearer, which basically made it an instant S+ tier among other world class items. However, her attention quickly drew back to the Asgardian wielding the sword.

"I will have your dead body eat those words, vile serpent! No one shall besmirch the Allfather, King of Asgard, in _my_ presence, his beloved wife, Queen of Asgard, Frigga! If Heaven and Hell cannot deny my love for my King, an **inferior being** like you _might_ have the honor of becoming our carpet."

_AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!ShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutupShutup!_

Although Toreii had not expressed any emotional changes from her adolescent face, Ai was reeling on the inside. In all her years of PVP and dungeon raids, nothing hurt her psyche as much as hearing such words being spoken about her.

It was like she was back in middle school confessing to a boy she had a crush on. It was a memory that haunted her and gave her PTSD everytime students brought up dating as a topic. There were many sleepless nights when her brain would all of a sudden play every single awkward moment she had thus far ingrained in her mind like a highlight reel, which all ended in the same confession scene.

_Please no… Please shut up… I'll die of embarrassment at this rate… _

To Ai, death was preferable to talking about her love life.

_I want to go back to bed… _

A/N: Sorry for the wait. I didn't know if I had wanted to include the fight scene in this chapter or the next. Sorry if it did end in a cliffhanger of sorts. Do you guys mind long chapters or would you want shorter ones? Please feel free to tell me or give feedback on this chapter. I tried flushing out more details, but some parts might be seen as word heavy.


	4. Chapter 4 - Frigga, Queen of Asgard

The last year or so had been quite trying for Frigga. Her husband, Odin, who would normally come back to their bed chambers, had stopped coming altogether. As a woman, as a wife and as a mother to their children, to have an empty bed chamber to herself was hurting her self-confidence. She often wondered if she was not doing enough for her King, or if she was lacking in bedroom experience compared to Odin's other mistresses.

Although she knew of her husband's past flings, she was the one who ultimately had a ring on her finger. Yes, she was the winner among other Gods and Celestials. So, she decided to be patient. Frigga would wait every day for her King to come back to Asgard, laying in their bed chambers hoping.

At first, Odin would only come to their bed once or twice a month to check up on her. However, Frigga had everlasting patience, which would eventually bear fruition. The Allfather would come to their bed once a fortnight, then once a week, to finally at least twice a week. She had finally regained some semblance of her maternal pride. That did not mean she stopped at just their bedroom life. Every time Odin would leave Asgard, she would secretly follow her husband to the edge and bid him a safe trip within her heart.

She waited outside of Odin's personal chamber, knowing Toreii had entered Odin Sleep just now. Tonight she wore a sleeveless, silver nightgown, embroidered with gold and ivory across her chest and down her back. Her auburn hair, normally reaching her lower back, was braided to a more manageable length just past her shoulders. Staring directly at the obsidian doors which protected her husband, Frigga's emerald colored eyes, shinier than gems themselves, never let her sight wander from its target.

The hallway she was in was empty and expansive, where the ceiling faded to darkness before any actual covering could be seen. Standing at attention with her back to the cold stone walls, she spread her fingers apart to cool the heat from her hands. As a Goddess, she knew her beauty was unmatched by other beings – even her son's wife, Lady Sif.

Frigga did not consider herself to be a woman of envy, but if she was comparing herself to Odin's past lovers, she would undeniably be the fairest of them all. Her visage was that of an older beauty, who through gaining age, also gained refinement and class. Being a God, Frigga's physical appearance had stopped changing hundreds of years ago, locking her beauty into a woman who just turned 30.

Although she was dressed for sleep, hoisted on her waist was the greatest gift the Allfather had ever given her, [Rungnir]. Originally a prize won through blood and sacrifice by Odin in a battle to the death against Surtr, her husband readily handed it to her the night before. In fact, the Allfather had stationed extra guards around the edge of the city, and even gave orders to his Valkyries to protect the castle. Even Thor and Loki were on overwatch, patrolling the skies, although she knew the brothers had a strained relationship.

Before gathering everyone last night, Toreii had equipped Frigga with a full set of armor never seen before in Asgard. The suit of armor was platinum in coloration, but was forged from unknown metals she had never heard before. Frigga knew of the Uru metal unique only to Asgard, which was used to forge [Mjӧlnir], [Gungnir], and [Rungnir]. Only the strongest beings were capable of using Uru weapons, as the metal required their users to channel their mana through in order to bond with it.

Since receiving [Rungnir], Frigga could feel the demonic and hellish magical power Surtr had poured into the sword. The blood-stained sword had eons of mana stored inside it, which fought against Frigga's will to wrestle control of true ownership of the blade. She could feel a quiet consciousness which was not her own within her mind, emboldening her to do treacherous things against her loved ones.

Frigga had been pouring her own mana into the sword, diluting the hellish presence Surtr had masterfully created, but she had only one night compared to centuries the World Ender had. If need be, she would gladly take on that title Ender herself if it meant protecting her King. In fact, thanks to the Allfather's magic, Frigga was able to hold the sword at bay and stop any corruption of her mind.

Toreii had imbued a total of 6 of her personal sigils onto Frigga's slender body in the past year. Each sigil exhausted both husband and wife, since the process required equal part of mana consumption of both parties. Frigga would always feel all of her mana was drained away, causing her to fall into a coma, lasting a week each time. Even after recovering and waking up from a long sleep, her body would fight against her wish to leave her bed.

Frigga's muscles would become sore, and if she attempted any kind of moment, the inside of her limbs would burn intensely. Born as an immortal, where her body was tougher and more magically talented, even that did not help hasten her recovery – quite the opposite, really, because it meant she was not used to the pain. Although she wanted desperately to get out of bed each time, it was also when Toreii would watch over her personally. So, Frigga resigned herself to be bedridden as a hopeless wife, soaking all the attention Toreii would give her.

Especially now, as her will clashed against Surtr's for control of [Rungnir], Frigga was grateful for the sigils, as she knew this fight was not hers alone. Through the excruciating process, Frigga gained a new power no Asgardian had wielded before. Against Surtr who could destroy entire worlds with a single swing of his sword, Frigga stood her ground, feeling the familial magic aura of her Allfather.

On her back were 4 sigils, each one acting as a 'Mana Gate' – designated North, South, East and West. The East and West gates were imprinted on her left and right shoulders, which, as she remembered, Toreii called [Tui] and [La], corresponding to the 'push' and 'pull' her physical body had to withstand. On the back of her neck and on her lower back were the North and South sigils, [Omni] and [Uni], which represents harmony of spirit and will. The 5th sigil on her abdomen, [Vita], was meant to be anti-death, as Toreii had once told her it used to belong to an archangel, Metatron. The last sigil was in the palm of her right hand, [Sephiroth], the embodiment of defiance, whose power she was using right now.

The sigils were originally black when they first appeared, but had all disappeared by the time she woke up from her week-long rest. Yet, despite not being able to see the sigils, Frigga understood the power Toreii entrusted to her. [Sephiroth], which once belonged to a fallen angel, gave her the willpower to fight against Surtr's corruption, or as Toreii had explained it, "A fight of two greater evils."

Lastly, the unknown armor she was gifted was beyond the capabilities of anything she ever saw in Asgard or in any of the other realms. Although she could feel remnants of Uru metal inside the armor, it was not the only material used. During a routine check inside of the treasury, when Frigga accompanied her husband, Toreii had given a detailed explanation of her plan to craft the armor.

First was Toreii's trip to the underground mines within Asgard to secure a plentiful amount of Uru metal, as she did not want to use the reserves stored within the treasury. Next was to get permission from someone called a 'Dev' in order to mine the remnants of two meteors which had fallen onto Midgard and the frozen tundra of Hel. The two unknown metals Frigga had never seen or heard before was 'Proto-A' and 'Anti-M'.

However, a week after implementing her plan, Toreii came storming back into their bedroom, grumbling and shaking her fist in the air, shouting a long monologue about 'how much she spends on the game' and "_What do you mean that would have been too broken for the game?!"_ which finally ended with, "_Your game is already broken!'"_. After an hour or so of grumbling, Toreii summoned [Gungnir] from the armory, which startled Frigga, despite being confined to bed rest.

Toreii had then walked to Frigga's side of the bed, standing with her back to their nightstand. Then, she witnessed the Allfather count her paces out loud, first 4 paces straight, then 3 paces left, 2 paces straight, 1 pace back and 10 paces diagonal. When she stopped, Toreii used her divine spear to strike at and break a stone tile within the ground. Frigga watched as her husband reach into a false bottom and took out a tiny silver chest. Ripping its lid open, Frigga could do nothing but observe the magnificent ring within the chest. She would later learn its name was [Ouroboros], but she could never forget the sacred words of power the Allfather used…

"Say 'no' to this, you shitty devs!"

A single day later, the Allfather brought back two giant meteors to Asgard, and locked herself inside the forge with them for well over a week. However, Frigga would come every day to check up on her King. Although there were Valkyries posted outside of the forge entrance, Odin had not allowed anyone to enter, save for his wife.

This past year she spent with her husband was completely different than the past centuries of their marriage. It was like Odin turned into a completely different person, as Frigga had never been treated like she was the most important person in all of Asgard. She bore witness to his benevolence and generosity, but most importantly his kindness towards her. Every day, Odin would talk with her, sometimes about small things, like a new creature he had spotted, or about strategies against other beings with the same capabilities as the Æsirs, which she learned were called 'Players'.

Frigga gently pressed her fingers against the doors separating her and her love. Looking back on the fond memories made in the past year, Frigga could not stop the small smile forming on her lips. Her vision became cloudy, the darkness of the obsidian doors blurring into the background. Warm streaks of tears ran down her cheeks, leaving a damp patch on the bosom of her night dress.

For the first time in their millennium of marriage, Frigga was happy to be so close to her husband. No longer was he as cold as the Frost Giants he slaughtered, as bloodthirsty as the dark elves he warred with, as uncaring for life as Hel was, or as much of a warmonger as Surtr. He was an adventurer who wanted to explore the unknown, a craftsman who immersed himself in his work, a good father who spoke with his children and played with them, and a loving husband who went out of his way to fight against 'shitty devs' to protect his wife.

"Good night, my love," Frigga murmured from the bottom of her heart. It was past midnight, but she had wanted to say some words to her King before bed.

* * *

The next morning was hectic, at least for Frigga. She was woken up an hour past dawn to start her day, her handmaidens bringing her wash cloths and a fresh change of clothes for the day. Today, the maids had set out a long-sleeved day gown, made from the white fleece of sheep which thrived in Niflheim's winters. Her morning routine went as expected, but she had noticed two of her maids were in distress, quietly mumbling and whispering to the head maid. Approaching them, their conversation ended quickly, but a single glance from Frigga and the two willingly told her the news.

Heimdall had stood right outside her bedroom door, waiting all night long for the Queen to wake. She was startled when she first saw him slumped against the hallway outside. Her handmaidens were of no help either, as they had tried to keep the watchful guardian away from her the same morning. However, Heimdall persisted, even as the maids had tried to block Frigga's view of his unsightly demeanor.

Heimdall had bloodshot eyes, his back hunched, and his hands trembling. He looked like a child who had gotten into trouble, but did not know how to tell their parents about the problem. However, he was also oblivious to the hateful glares the maids shot at him, as they were fuming about someone forcing their audience onto the matriarch.

Frigga waved her hand to dismiss the maids, who could only bow and enter her room to clean the bedchamber. Looking over Heimdall, the poor soul seemed like he had stayed up all night without a wink of sleep. Although she preferred to have meetings arranged in an orderly manner, the highest ranking safety officer in all of Asgard had a certain priority versus her other agendas.

"You look terrible, Heimdall. What's so important you must see me first thing in the morning?"

"Forgive me, my Queen, but may I ask for the whereabouts of the Allfather? There is a matter I must speak privately with him immediately," Heimdall somberly asked, his voice cracking midway through.

Normally, she would not disclose information about her husband, but if it was the head of the security force of Asgard asking, she had to reconsider. "Let's talk about this in a more private setting, Heimdall. A hallway is no place for people of status to have meaningful discussion."

Heimdall shook his head negatively, surprising Frigga and gaining more scornful glares from her maids. "I am afraid this is a matter which cannot wait, my Queen. I must head to the Allfather **immediately**. The greater good of Asgard is at stake."

"Then you should also **know** the Odin Sleep takes priority above _everything_ else."

The maids behind her shrink back at her sudden shift in tone, keeping their heads low as to not incur her wraith on them as well. They had originally been distraught about Heimdall suddenly appearing and disrupting their schedule, but their displeasure could not compare to the hot ire the Queen of Asgard was wielding.

Heimdall gave a blank stare back as his only response. Frigga did not dislike him, but felt the overgrown vanguard was nothing more than Odin's personal guard dog who needed to be curbed from time to time. However, she could not deny his position was earned by his great vision which surpassed her own. If the one who watches over all needed to speak to the Allfather, then she had to take it seriously, as the Queen.

"If the matter is as urgent as you say, then the King will address it when he has recovered his strength. Be at ease, Heimdall," Frigga assured after quelling her anger, "The Allfather has always protected Asgard for the past 100 lifetimes, and he will continue to do so for another 100 more."

Heimdall only nodded in agreement before bowing and leaving to another part of the castle. The maids clicked their tongues in frustration at the clear lack of respect for their matron, but Frigga gave them a dismissive glance to forget this interaction. She had a long list of nobles she had to appease to, but that notion was thrown out for now. Today was _not_ a peaceful day for Asgard, and she had to prepare for the worse. With a wave of her hand, the maids nodded in acknowledgement and stayed outside her bedroom doors.

Frigga made her way down to the armory. Their bedroom was on the western side of the castle, while her battle gear and Odin's chamber were in the heart of the castle where it was most guarded. With a steady stride in her step, she walked the distance down corridors and hallways, greeting servants and noblewomen alike along the way.

Many of the upper nobles were warriors who commanded battalions for Odin, which left their wives to handle the political battlefield. Some of the more outlandish noblewomen attempted to stop her and ask about her availability, but Frigga simply gave a faint smile with an apologetic glance. The less the nobles knew, the less chance rumors would spread about Heimdall's worries. At some point, several women had insisted on chatting while they all walked with Frigga to her destination.

By nodding and smiling with the other women, Frigga was able to delay a response to their flurry of questions. She had finally made it to the checkpoint where Odin's personal guards stood. A pair of Valkyries halted her and the other women, crossing their spears to a wooden door which lead down to the lower levels of the castle.

"Perhaps we can continue these wonderful discussions later, ladies," Frigga sweetly cajoled, beaming with a pleasant smile. Having bid them adieu, the Valkyries allowed her entry into the lower chambers of the castle, but not before asking if she had an escort. "No, there is no need. I am heading to wake my King," she answered. The silver knights had stoic looks on their face, like they were devoid of any purpose in life but duty.

Although she was Odin's wife, only the Allfather could give orders to the Valkyries. They were loyal only to him, not the kingdom or the people of Asgard. Among the nobles, this was a hot topic of discussion, as they feared one day Odin would point his spear to them… and the Valkyries would oblige.

Frigga had considered the possibility was very much real once upon a time, but not anymore. The husband she married became a new man overnight. Odin and his brood would confine themselves within the castle and never ventured out to meet the people he ruled before, believing himself to be above seeing the serfs who sought his strength for protection.

However, that was a thing of the past. Lately, she would find her husband had sneaked out of the castle without telling his Valkyries, to explore the city and its landmarks. Often covering for Toreii, Frigga would also sneak out with her King to explore the city. At first, Toreii had been surprised to see her outside of the castle, but did not mind leading her around the city. She became very excited during every outing, as it made her feel like a young lass sneaking off with her lover into town.

The last year was packed with fun memories Frigga deeply cherished, imprinting each moment inside her heart and mind. These were the type of emotions which fueled her fight against Surtr's will. [Rungnir] was filled with hate, resentment, and scorn for the Allfather, all which tried to overwhelm Frigga and corrupt her onto the path of vengeance against her most loved one.

The demonic sword was safely stored within its magical scabbard, an icy sheath won from Odin's war in Niflheim. The ice around the sword was a beautiful hue of blue which shone and reflected any form of light without melting the sheath. Toreii had explained to her it was forged from the first snowfall in Niflheim, compacted from the weight of 10,000 winters. True to her King's word, the hellish blade which burned hot enough to cut through a planet and sun was calmed. [Rungnir] peacefully rested inside of its sheath, its flames quelled and connection to Surtr growing weaker by the day.

Frigga finally reached her destination, just outside the obsidian double doors she was watching last night. Reaching a hand up to push a door open, she froze in place after placing her hand on the cold stone. She felt the dense stone vibrate, and through them, a magical presence which often gave her nightmares. An ever-consuming cold started to spread from her stomach, which traveled up her spine and settled slowly in her heart.

She drew in a quick breath of air and forced herself away from the doors. With her back to the wall, her knees buckled and she slowly slumped down to the ground. The pink blush on her cheek grew into a murderous red, like she was bleeding. The hallway echoed with the sounds of her panting as Frigga's breathing became more shallow, her airway becoming tighter and her throat felt dry and coarse.

As the Queen of Asgard, she was at every campaign with her husband to show her support for him. She was not a stranger to death and war, as she had once lead the Valkyries on a suicidal march against Hel's own armies. Her empathy became as cold as the harsh conditions she was forced to fight to the death in. Once upon a time, if the Allfather commanded her to fight until she dropped dead, and then keep fighting after that, she would have considered it an honor to be the one to carry out that order. Now, things were different with her one true love; at least, she witnessed evidence things were different. When Odin had marched his armies against Surtr, the World Ender only needed to swing his sword once for half of Asgard's fighting force to be wiped out. As a general in his army, she bore witness to the massacre of her people, as she watched everyone who stood between Surtr and Odin struck down, their bodies burning and their spirit engulfed in hellish agony.

The battlefield was filled with wails of screams from those who were still burning alive, but Odin did nothing as Surtr continued to curtail his people. At the start of the battle, the Æsirs were 1 million strong of able-bodied men and women who marched to their death in the name of their Allfather. Yet, Odin was indifferent to their pain, watching his people being slaughtered as if it were a chore. Only when the hell giant was face to face with Odin that he bothered to get off his makeshift throne. The scars from the battle lasted even to this day, 500 years later, as Asgard's population had started to regain its number.

Odin was not a kind king, nor was he forgiving or compassionate. At that moment in time, Frigga firmly believed that. She sensed the same destructive power her husband wielded against Surtr within his sleeping chamber. Frigga's body shivered, her sense of touch numb and her hands cold. By accident, her left hand wandered to the hilt of [Rungnir], the thing responsible for the massacre of her people.

A warmth spread from her delicate hand to her chest and then to the rest of her body. It was not an overwhelming heatwave which consumed everything, but a gentle spring breeze, like the end of winter has come and life was starting anew. Despite feeling her knees were still wobbly, Frigga forced herself up. The dainty touch on her sword from earlier became a tight, confident grasp on the handle.

[Rungnir] was evidence her King had changed for the better. The spoils of war Odin had sealed away for his own use was spread among his most trusted family members. The hellfire blade which once stood as a symbol for the downfall of Asgard was now a divine weapon which served for the protection of its people. Frigga could not forget her purpose, her role she was entrusted with when [Rungnir] was placed in her possession.

Having recovered from her un-regal position, Frigga took a moment to steady her body and her breathing. She was the Queen of Asgard, but more importantly, she was her King's shadow. If Odin was readying for battle, then so must she. If the Allfather saw fit to expel the same power he used against Surtr, then so must she. Gathering her courage, Frigga briskly made her way back up to their shared bedchamber.

The same Valkyries she passed along the way made no motion to stop her, but the ensemble of noblewomen she thought she escaped were waiting for her return. Many of them had bright smiles on their faces, but Frigga had more pressing matters. However, to keep up the facade, she returned their smiles with her own, steering the conversation as she made headway back to her room.

Although she was able to converse with the noblewomen at a leisurely pace, their attention was drawn away when they all witnessed Heimdall sprinting down the hallway. The security vanguard was adorned in full plated gold armor, which clanked as he dashed toward his destination. The smile Frigga wore turned into furrowing her brow, as she left he noblewomen behind. Just like many men with a rank in Odin's army, Heimdall lacked a certain amount of subtlety Frigga was quite scornful of.

Frigga finally made it to her bedroom, giving the handmaidens waiting outside the doors a quick glance to give them their orders. The group of noblewomen were not far behind her, as their high heels clicked on the stone floors. The maids closed the doors behind her as she heard the muffled voices of the women outside her room.

Unknowingly letting out a sigh, she signaled the other maids inside the room to head toward the door with a flick of her hand. Quickly unbuckling the belt which held her sword's scabbard, she also disrobed her day gown. Leaving herself bare in nothing but her undergarments, the chilly air of the room pricked against her warm skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps.

Without saying a single word to her maids, they watched their Queen position herself in front of a nightstand and quietly mouthing the number of her paces. When Frigga had stopped her counting, she attentively kneeled down to the ground and felt the stone tile on the cold ground. Without skipping a beat, Frigga poised her right arm and punched through the tile into the false bottom underneath.

A quick gasp came from the two maids stationed inside her room, as they jutted their hands quickly to cover their mouths. However, from the ground, they saw a liquid-like substance had taken hold of their Queen's hand, penetrating through the tough tile. What Frigga was after was the secret armor Toreii had stashed inside their room. The unknown metals her husband had used were fused with the Uru metal, which became a solid plate of armor after the week Toreii spent in the forge.

At the time, Ai had spent a pretty penny on data crystals which allowed for a quick-change effect. However, what she had failed to notice was the quick-change effect had turned the armor into liquid metal when not in use. Since she had wanted to display the armor on a nice stand by her bedside, Ai was quite disappointed when the armor would only become solid if she equipped it, thus making her stash it in her not-so-secret-anymore treasure hiding place.

The liquid metal quickly cascaded up her arm, around her chest, up her neck, then around her face, as well as completely covering her lower body. Although it was stored in the cold tile of the ground, the armor felt like a warm trickle of water was covering all of her body. After it covered the entirety of her body, the armor changed its form from the seamless metallic liquid which hugged her skin tightly to a light bronze in coloration as it hardened around her limbs and torso.

Her chest was now protected by a plated chestpiece which she felt was strong enough to protect her against Surtr himself. Frigga's hands were covered in metal as well, but instead of dulling her sensation of touch, her fingers still retained their flexibility and feeling. Below her torso, the metallic liquid solidified into sleek armored leggings with thigh guards sticking out the sides. Finally, the helm protecting her head neatly tucked her hair inside of it, as its design only allowed tiny slits for sight to be the sole connection to the outside world. Overall, it completely sealed Frigga away, isolating her from everything else.

With the base form of the armor done, the design began to set in. The armguards became jagged, as tiny fins started to protrude out of the side which continued from her wrist to her elbow. The shoulders of the armor were slender like her own, which converged to the center chestpiece. The central piece hugged her torso tightly, creating two circular breast plates which also felt tight around her ample bosom. Below her breasts, the design on her abdomen was smooth and slender, which conformed to her hourglass waistline. From her hips downward, the metal plating seamlessly stacked on top of each other, like the layers were woven together as if it was cloth. Lastly were the heels covering her feet, which thankfully were only a quarter of an inch high.

The maids stood in awe and fear of their Queen. Never before had they seen someone use this type or armor, nor the quick-change effect. All Asgardian armor were created with robustness and ease of movement in mind, but Frigga's was thick and heavy-looking, even at the joints of her limbs. Although it looked cumbersome, she actually felt lighter than before she had put the battlesuit on.

The crème de la crème of it all was the divine sword which awaited its master. Frigga gently grasped the crystal clear ice sheathing [Rungnir], looking at the faint red gleam which shone through. She would prove herself worthy to wield both the armor and weapon her beloved graciously entrusted to her.

Looking back to the star-struck maids, Frigga uttered, "My presence is still here, do you understand?" With only nods to give, the maids gave their confirmation in unison. The Queen of Asgard then opened the window from her bedroom and snuck out, like she had done hundreds of times previously.

"[Fly]!" Frigga chanted as she leaped through the window. On cue, a bluish glow engulfed her, allowing her to soar through the sky weightlessly. Exiting on the west side of her castle, Frigga flew straight upward, above the magical barrier protecting all of Asgard. The bright rays of polychromatic light all around the city lit up the black sky above her, causing the night to look like a murky blur of reflected light.

Looking down, she saw the heart of the city, her castle at the center with homes and merchant shops spiraling outward. Narrowing her vision, Frigga first looked to the eastern and western entrances, but their torch-lit paths were devoid of any activity. On the northern path, she could make out two figures in the distance. One was in a set of gold Asgardian armor she saw earlier, and the other was in a familiar garb of red and white robes.

As she flew north towards her King, the city of Asgard below her glowed, its entirety engulfed in a swirling of light. In an instant, everything was gone, the city and all of its inhabitants. Frigga could only guess the Allfather had called upon the [Bifrost] to teleport the entire city elsewhere, as all who was left was a lone figure in the distance being surrounded by dragons. Being outside of the magical barrier, she was not transported with the city.

Frigga could not afford any kind of hesitation, as she flew straight down to her King's side. Just as she made her approach, a giant hydra bellowed from below them, shaking the air with an ear-bleeding, thunderous roar. The creature was not unlike the World Serpent destined to swallow up the entire world, which made the Queen of Asgard all the more concerned that her beloved was facing the thing alone.

No, her husband was _not_ alone. _Frigga_ was there as well, and she was going to take a stance against all who threatened her cherished ones. Gliding in behind Toreii, she stared directly at the monster, putting herself between it and her King. Gathering all the courage in the bottom of her gut, and with all the air her lungs would give, she announced herself.

"I will have your dead body eat those words, vile serpent! No one shall besmirch the Allfather, King of Asgard, in _my_ presence, his beloved wife, Queen of Asgard, Frigga! If Heaven and Hell cannot deny my love for my King, an **inferior being** like you _might_ have the honor of becoming our carpet."

* * *

**AN:** Sorry for the long wait and for leaving a cliffhanger. This chapter was originally going to contain the fight as well, but I've split it into two chapters instead. Please tell me your thoughts on the view of an Asgardian NPC and their thoughts. I'll have the next chapter up soon.


	5. Chapter 5 - Unfair Battle

'_Is that my armor?! How did she get my armor?! I hid it so well! Ahh… It looks so cool… I guess it does look better on someone that's tall…'_ Ai's thoughts once again wandered, the treasure seeker inside of her speaking in admiration. Although she had just recovered from her internal reeling from the sudden declaration of love by an NPC, Ai still had an imaginary pain her stomach, which made her feel weak.

The darkness of night Toreii was hovering in was covered in a black sphere of magic, which was the ever-familiar anti-teleportation field Ai saw in Yggdrasil. The hundreds of thousands of dragons which encircled them back off, as the hydra echoed a soft growl from its abdomen.

"**YOU DARE!** **You filthy Players continue to pollute this world, and you have the nerve to consider yourselves righteous?! Your kind are nothing more than harbingers of death!**"

'_Did he say Players? Does he know something about Players from Yggdrasil? Ahh… He doesn't sound too happy about meeting a Player though… I guess I would have the same reaction if I met another Player too… '_

"Oh? You know about Players? Do you mind explaining how you kn-"

"**[Triple Maximize Magic – Hellfire Supernova]!"**

The darkness of the night was lit up in a bright crimson red, as all the heads on the hydra breathed a chaotic blackish-red flames from their mouths when Toreii was in mid-sentence. Yet, the attack was launched at the armored NPC beside her. The beam of negative energy infused with ever-burning black flames shot out of the hydra, but Toreii instantly jumped into action.

Like a light switch which was suddenly flipped, Ai felt like she was in the backseat along for the ride, as Toreii the PVP veteran instinctively activated her ring's power.

––– [Silent Magic – My Body as a Shield]

Although the spell did not cost her mana, she still had to pay the health costs of using it. Since the battle had just begun, Toreii was currently in 'information phase', where she had to draw out the battle until she knew more about her opponent's moves and abilities. The spell had a flat cost of 10% of her maximum health, but with such a small healthpool, the actual cost of the defensive spell was merely 1 HP. As soon as the cost was paid, she felt her gear quickly regenerating the health she lost. Most of her equipment had been optimized for either increasing her absurd magical attack stat or for flat health regeneration.

Just as the hydra's attack closed half the distance between them, Toreii's shadow leapt in front of Frigga. The shadow then formed itself into a copy of Toreii, which then flew straight into the beam before it could reach them. As the shadow-Toreii collided head on with the attack, it engulfed the clone and formed a blood red sphere of negative energy in the air. Red lightning arched from the surface of the bubble, which promptly imploded on itself and sent out a concussive shockwave in all directions.

This time, Frigga intercepted the outward force by slashing the air to cancel any energy it had left.

"I still think we can talk ab-"

"**[Eternal Thunder]! [Lunar Cannon]!"**

The elemental heads on the hydra began charging black electricity in their mouths, while the metallic heads absorbed white energy along their necks and focused it. Once again, the hydra let loose an energy beam directly at them. The air heated up, as the lightning and plasma beam spiraled towards them, combining with each other to form a single attack which barreled forward even faster.

––– [Silent Magic – My Body as a Shield]

Once again, Toreii's shadow leapt in front of the attack, canceling the damage which would have gone to her. However, she noticed the agitation Frigga was displaying, as the NPC had wanted to block this attack herself, but Toreii had stopped her from doing so. She had to save mana and to keep information about her own abilities a secret for as long as possible. In a battle between Players, the ones who used their trump card first were always the losers in battle.

If she remembered the spreadsheet she made of the NPCs correctly, it would have been best to station Frigga as a frontline bruiser who wasted their opponents spells and abilities. However, in a new unknown world, where she had just witnessed 3 spells which were not native of Yggdrasil, Toreii was hesitant to send out a unit who could just be easily killed if the opponent had a way to deal with Asgardians she did not know of.

Even if the NPCs of Asgard had higher-than-usual base stats than most Level 100 Players, that did not mean beings of this new world also had level caps like the game did. So far, Toreii estimated the hydra was within the realm of being Level 100 just as she was, with all the straggler dragons among them ranging from Level 40 to 60. With her magical sense to see auras, the hydra did not extrude more magical capabilities than most players she fought with in the past.

If she had to guess, the hydra was not normally a long range spell caster, but was lulling her into believing so, in order to get her to engage in melee combat range where he was probably superior. It was not a terrible strategy, to give your opponent a false set of data about your true build and moveset, but the way the hydra did it was not the least bit subtle. On paper, the strategy might have been fine, but in practice, the giant serpent was not well-versed in PVP combat or very much experienced. It was like Toreii was facing someone who was into theorycrafting, who would optimize gear for the best stat bonuses and resistances against their single opponent, but did not actually practice using the gear itself to see if there was anything else which could be improved.

'_I know its rich coming from me, but you can't just win only using higher stats!'_

As an educator, she also saw this with her students, where they complained what was taught in lecture was not what they were tested on. There was some truth to that with some professors, but she knew covering the basics and letting yourself expand from there was the best way for one to learn. It was this same mentality when it came to playing Yggdrasil. Toreii took the basic concepts the game had, and explored how far she could go with it, which was why she was able to claim such a high position within the PVP ladder rankings.

When Yggdrasil was officially launched and Players first fought the story raid boss, there was an 'instant death phase' which wiped out almost every party or guild. Very few were able to clear the dungeon, thus increasing the amount of time Players had to play in order to get better data crystals for their gear. The devs had prided themselves on how much gameplay time it took to finish the story, but there was a huge amount of backlash from the community, as well as review-bombing of the game which followed.

Since it was obvious the situation with their player base was going to get worse before it got better, the devs had caved in and immediately released a hotfix patch. Ever since then, every character within the game, new or old, including transferred accounts, all had a passive skill [Second Wind]. Thus, when one was at full health, even if an opponent used an attack whose calculated damage exceeded their maximum health, they would only drop down to 10% of their maximum health afterwards. Since the patch, Players had coined the use of the skill as 'health gating'. Now, during raids, healers would prioritize healing their party before the 'instant death phase' so everyone would survive.

After the passive skill was added in, Toreii had run many tests and experiments to see how far she could take the ability. The devs had not included a minimum amount of health in order for the skill to activate, since low level Players had a lower base health stat than higher level Players. Thus, she was able to build her character around a smaller healthpool and invest the rest of her stat growth into magical attack.

In fact, during her own theorycrafting, no matter how high her resistances were, she would always lose at least 1 health, which with her minuscule healthpool was a 10% loss. So, instead of building any resistances or bigger base health, Toreii bet on Players trying to finish her with a single ability or spell and health gating in order to live. With such a small base health, she could quickly heal herself and be back within health gating range at little to no cost due to her gear, or a low loss where she could apply a low level healing spell, since she did not need higher-tier spells.

She had used this same strategy to win herself the Asgardian World Championship tournament. The lower bracket of Players who entered did not even bother to check her health in battle, so she was able to sneak her winning tactic into the quarter-/semi-finals without being found out. Only after facing the first real opponent was she discovered, but by then, the match was over and she had moved onto the semi-finals. However, during the finale was when the complaints of her defeated opponents had reached the judges of the matches.

Although the finale was delayed in order to review Toreii's match history, the referees had ruled in her favor as technically she did nothing wrong. There were not cheating software which allowed her to live indefinitely, but merely a game mechanic everyone had. A third page would be added to her Wikipedia page after winning the championship, where many Players had either put her on a blacklist or a KOS (kill on sight) for some guilds. Even the devs had to send out a newsletter about the death threats Ai received for being an unfair cheater.

At the time Ai did not consider the backlash was all that important, but now looking back, she was very much the bane of a balancing team. Memorizing the patch notes allowed her to predict what would become meta or allowed her to abuse buffs to items and spells which had no business getting a buff in the first place.

Her mentality was, '_If the devs release a broken game, then I'm going to play a broken game.'_ Thus, her mechanics in the game were above and beyond the threshold of what a normal Player is capable of; however, her in-game knowledge was lacking. Instead of knowing every spell and their effects, she instead had it all installed onto her ring. She was the type of Player who put all her eggs into a single basket, then proceed to throw said basket at her opponents. At least, that's what she considers her past self to be.

Staring down at the hydra now, it definitely reminded her of how she played the game every day. '_Ah~! How nostalgic… Those we-'_

"**[Ray of Permafrost]!"**

––– [Silent Magic – My Body as a Shield]

'_-re some fun days… There was so much to explore… It's no fun playing against amateurs though… '_

"Parley please!" Toreii shouted with her cute and young voice. Frigga was ready for action right behind her, but attacking and killing the first contact of a new world was quite hostile.

"**PARLEY?!"** With a thunderous howl, the other dragons obeyed the hydra's command and began mobilizing towards the duo.

'_Hmm… Adds phase already… What a pain!'_

"Frigga, would you kindly deal with the small fries? I'd like to talk with this hydra by myself."

"If that is your will, my beloved," the Queen of Asgard answered with joy, "I will rush to your side at once if you need my presence!"

'_Please stop calling me that… Ugg… I feel like I was forced into a marriage… Is this what those isekai protagonist feel? All of a sudden there is a love interest out of nowhere when coming into a new world…? Tch… Are there other Players here too then…?'_

Frigga broke off from where Toreii was floating, disappearing within a blink of an eye. In fact, she was barely able to keep up with the silhouette of the platinum armor's aftershadow, but the trail of dragon corpses left a clear indication of where Frigga had been. Their bodies dropped lifelessly to the snowy ground below, staining the pure white land with a crimson red, as the air smelled more and more metallic. Each of them had a single slash mark, clean through their tough and resilient torso like a hot knife through butter. The dragons did not even have time to react to their kin being killed before Frigga got to the next one.

Though their numbers began to dwindle down, the hydra was unfazed before Toreii. A giant red flag blew up inside her mind as the number of heads on the giant beast increased just as fast as the number of dragon corpses on the group. The more Frigga massacred the horde, the faster the hydra had a new head to join its collection. Each new head grew from the base of its body, the bones jutting out and leaving a trail of blood where it had cut through the thick hide of the hydra. Next, the blood vessels and muscles would wrap themselves around the bones and finally the protective scales would grow rapidly over the newly formed skin. The process of a new head growing took less than 10 seconds, but each time, Toreii could definitely tell the body was also growing in size, bit by bit.

'_A raid boss who gets stronger if you clear the adds… Geez… Why does this feel like something the shitty devs would put in… How is this balanced?! Am I stuck in a permanent hard mode? Don't hydras already have supernatural regeneration?! Hmm… '_

"Are you the king of your kin? May I ask for your name?"

"**Why should I answer a question to the likes of your kind?! There is no rea-"**

"BECAUSE!" Toreii enunciated, cutting off the hydra, "As one king to another, it is only natural that we behave as such in the name of those who call us king."

"**AND YET YOUR PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY STARTED TO KILL MINE! [Volcanic Disaster]!"**

The air around the hydra grew bright, as the black scales covering its muscular body glowed a faint shade of red, becoming stronger each second. Toreii watched as the vein underneath its body pulse with crimson energy, lighting up the entire blood system of the hydra. The intricate trails traveling through it all concentrated on 6 points within is body, pulsing like a heart. From its hearts, the dangerous-looking energy concentrated once again at the ends of the hydra's heads. As it channeled the energy of the spell through its body, Toreii raised her divine spear in the air.

"[Absolute Zero]."

Just like how the air was a bright magma red, burning hot with heat waves pulsing from the epicenter of the hydra, Toreii was encompassed by a calm, protective aura of gentle blue. Back in the game, environmental changes were nothing more than status effects, but now, she could actually feel the raging, hot fire burning inside the hydra as he channeled his power. If she were human, the air would have been toxic to breathe in, as plumes of black vapor dispensed from the hydra's nostrils as lava poured from their mouths.

Toreii's spell reached its crescendo when the frost blue aura transferred itself to her divine spear. With her dainty little body, she positioned her body like a javelin thrower, the muscles in her tiny arm flexing underneath carefully trained tension. Taking long, steady breaths, the pounding heartbeat she felt in her flush ears slowed down into a peaceful rhythm. Even if she was a [Deity] and was holding [Gungnir], physically throwing the spear would not even harm an armored footsoldier, let alone a hydra with plated scales and thick hide.

That is, if she actually _physically_ threw the spear.

"**[Triple Maximize Magic – Heart of Nature]!"**

"[Triple Maximize Magic – Atomic Acceleration]!"

From its hundreds of mouths erupted streams of lava, boiling hot steam, hell fire, blood freezing winds, black lighting, red lightning, crystal clear ice, black ice, holy energy, negative energy, black death, rotting decay, meteors, draconic flames, concentrated brine, acidic venom, diseased poison, enchanted earth, rock crystals, molten lead, and nuclear fire – yet the one Toreii felt most guarded against was from the central head, the ethereal one. The celestial head had charged a dangerous energy in its mouth she was very familiar with from Yggdrasil. It was the most feared ability among the Player base, which was exclusive to a World-Class item, [Longinus], which completely wiped the data of any character.

Yet the hydra seemed able to use the same effective spell power without the need to possess the World-Class item. If she were still in the game world, Ai would have surely complained about how the devs made it possible to lose your entire account just for trying a raid boss. Something like this in Yggdrasil would mean no Players would even attempt the raid at all. Not even the top guilds would want to risk their members or NPCs, especially when the ability was an AoE beam the hydra was preparing.

Even Ai was fearful of losing everything she had worked so hard to achieve during her play time. Toreii was more than just some character she built over the last decade of her life – she was the [Deity] who stat-checked the upper echelon of the rank ladder. Toreii was Rank 2 pan-Japan, Rank 5 pan-Asia, and Rank 8 globally. Something like the hydra might have scared her enough instantly run away and log off, but that was a past version of herself. She was not like every other Player in Yggdrasil. She might have once feared [Longinus] being used on her, but that was before she claimed the title of [Allfather].

Toreii's delicate fingers lightly brushed against the metal sigils engraved she shaft. The magical Uru metal was densely packed with mana she had spent the past year infusing into. The reflective silver now ebbed with glints of an icy blue river trapped within the spear. As she charged her spell longer, the calm steady blue hue inside reached its breaking point, and the mana broke through the surface of the Uru metal, engulfing the entire shaft of the divine weapon with a magical flame. Behind the tip of the spear was a raging blue flame which contrasted brightly against the blood red light the hydra produced.

Between Toreii and the Dragon King, it was a battle of the likes of David and Goliath.

In the sea of crimson red light, an equally strong blue gently made its own presence known. The dragon horde who was being silently massacred all gave their attention to the battle between kings. Frigga was still at attention, keeping her distance close by to her husband should she need to raise her sword to protect her beloved. The darkness of night was gone, the blinding red light shining as far as the eye could see. The king of dragons was intending to wipe out everything in his quest to vanquish his most hated enemy, his killing intent made known very clearly.

Normally, Toreii would have stopped the hydra after the 3rd or so spell, but since she was in a new world with different rules, she decided to see what kind of magic the new world had to offer. So far, magic seemed to work for the inhabitants in the same way it worked for her. Although being able to use a single spell but firing it with a thousand different heads was something she thought should have been nerfed – or at least a bit more balanced. Had the hydra been more innovative or creative with their magic casting, Toreii would have given him a bit of praise, but the execution was very much cut-and-dry. Not to mention the hydra was able to use consecutive spells and decide which heads used which spell. That would have been a killer advantage to any Player in Yggdrasil.

Perhaps if she handled things differently, or negotiated better, she could have befriended the hydra and gotten more knowledge and information about the new world, as well as learning about what new magic there was. She was a bit regretful for that, but she should not let her guard down in the face of such a massive being. If he still had a trump card behind the big show of high-tier spells, Toreii had to be watching out for it.

That was the only reason she had allowed the hydra to go as far as he did. In a PVP battle, there would have been 3 rounds, but this would have been more of an instant death match. After stalling out the first round and ending in a draw, Toreii would have begun her offensive at the start of round 2. Toreii was not the kind of opponent to let other Players buff or heal themselves during battle. She was built for hyper-focused damage output in rapid succession. Most of her spells had little to no cast time, or she was able to channel the cast time during the active time of her other spells. At one point, she was a contender for fastest raid boss clear time against the pro speedrunner guilds.

Toreii stalling and holding her Super-Tier spell was very much herself humoring the hydra. Had this been a normal PVP match, she would have allocated 10 minutes to gathering info about the opponent's equipment and moveset, and the last 5 minutes to stall for round 2. The hydra had gotten a full hour out of her since the start of the battle. It was like he thought it was normal for people to wait their turn for the other person to attack like a turn-based RPG. Toreii was being quite polite to play along, but the hydra did not seem to notice in the slightest.

This was the difference between a low- to mid-tier Player and someone of high-tier. There was no efficiency in being flashy or showboating, which was detrimental to any Player inside the top 100 rank ladder. Which was why Toreii was on her highest guard should the hydra be feigning his amateur experience. It was one thing to be a noob – it was another to be smurfing. A show of a lack of battle knowledge was just as tough to fight against as a well-planned campaign. Toreii planned her movements in order to read through her opponent's intentions, but there was no point in reading a book with no contents. A bitter aftertaste tickled the tip of her tongue, as memories of her early PVP days surfaced through the recesses of her mind. She hated smurf accounts with a burning passion, since she thought it ruined the experience of the game for new, incoming players.

'_Who charges their Super-Tier spell for 10 minutes?! Did he expect the adds to cover for him?! He's a giant target! It would be harder for me to not hit him! This is a terrible raid boss… Ahh… It's like Yggdrasil all over again… Maybe I should thi-'_

––– **SHUNK-CLINK-CLANK!**

A meter from her neck, her peripheral vision caught the gleam of a polished emerald colored blade, intercepted by the familiar crimson tint of [Rungnir]. The air still hummed with the metallic ringing, as Frigga swiftly blocked and parried the would-be assassination attempt. Both sharpened edges of their blades drew yellow sparks as the metals continue to clash against one another, neither side willing to give in. Just as Frigga was clad head-to-toe in metal armor, so too was the new challenger. In the blood red light of the hydra's luminescence, the warrior before her was equipped with a chromatic black armor, forged in the semblance of a dragon. Where the eye sockets were, Toreii saw amber colored eyes staring right back at her with hateful disdain.

"**GET AWAY FROM THEM! NOW!"**

Relinquishing the energies the hydra had built up within its heads, the huge forearms sprung forward towards Toreii. Two arms with clawed hands clenched into a fist, hurtling towards her tiny body at supersonic speed.

"Please keep this one alive, Frigga. Bring him back to Asgard, but do not let **anyone** know about it. I'll finish on my end and meet you back home."

"By your will, my beloved!"

'_Please stop calling me that… Ugg… my headache is getting worse…'_

"[Parallel Convergence]!"

* * *

Despite his best efforts, despite flying as fast as he could, despite _specifically_ warning his firstborn to not leave the safety of their mountain fortress, the world around Nyx Al-Shun disappeared into an abyss of darkness. Light blurred in a kaleidoscope of color, as if the world itself was twisting into something completely different. Everything but himself and the tiny Player distorted and swirled into nothingness, leaving the two completely alone with each other.

"**Where is my daughter?!"** Nyx roared with every fiber of his being, as a small knot began to form at the base of all his necks.

"I'm bored. You're boring me."

Several of Nyx's heads with living flesh had veins along their necks bulging from his increased blood pressure. Some of his undead heads with emotional suppression skills, along with heads consisting of plants, which had calming statuses or mechanized/non-living heads with no emotions at all, did nothing to impede the blazing eruption of fury which burned inside each of his 6 hearts.

"**I will silence your insolence once and for all!"**

"Well? I'm wai-"

"**[Light of A Thou-"**

"Engage [Gungnir], begin Autonomic Systems!"

The air reverberated with a metallic hum piercing through the void of nothingness between them, reaching not just the ears of Nyx, but deep within his own armored body, seeping into the reaches of his well-protected hearts. His entire body shook from the shockwave which was just the spear releasing its initial magic. An electrical spark ran from the bottom of his long spiraling tail all the way up to his massive chest, down his muscular forearms to the tips of his razor-sharp talons. Each of his heads which were still alive had shivers run down their long necks, while his more magically-talented heads felt an almighty pulsation of mana burst, with his more primal heads sending immediate warning signals to his being, their instincts in the back of his consciousness telling him to flee if he could.

It was now that his more draconic heads had their treasure senses tell him of the incredible value being held in the tiny palm of the Player before him. It was not just any magical weapon being wielded, but one of a divine scale, a true god slayer. Never in his 300 years of life had he ever encountered anything of the same pedigree – never in his 200 years building his mountain fortress and his dragon horde had he faced something which could strike him down – never in his 100-year war against the Players had he felt his life was going to end.

"I was being very polite earlier, giving you all the time you needed for your spells, but I can only take so much disrespect from such an incompetent Pla- err… being. I thought there would be something special about you, but you're more boring than half of the raid bosses I've cleared. Do you honestly think people are just waiting around for their turn to attack one another?"

Nyx was dumbstruck, with nothing coming to mind for a retort – at least, his more rational heads could not. All of his other emotionally-capable heads were brimming with rage for the Player and their kind, while all his dragon heads were arguing with him to seek more information about the treasures which could still be found. If there were downsides to his special ability to absorb the power and memories of the dragonkin who fell around him, it was that they all still had some semblance of their original personality and he could not control whether or not to grow a new head. However, there did seem to be a majority consensus among all of his heads.

"**Where did you get that spear?"**

"At the sun."

* * *

In and out, 10 minute PVP match. That was what she had told herself when she teleported away the entire city of Asgard. Yet, the death match became turn-based RPG, had taken well over an hour of her time. Although she did not consider herself to be an impatient person in general, the absurdity of waiting for your opponent to make a move in a real life fight was baffling. Frigga demonstrated NPCs who used to operate on a set routine were no longer bound to just a basic attack/defend mode.

'_Now that I think about it, raid bosses aren't exactly known for interactive gameplay… Should I just think of him as a bullet sponge? Ahh… but the boss concept seemed cool though… I used so many buffs for this...'_

With [Gungnir] on autopilot, the divine spear propelled itself forward at lightning speed, leaving a sonic boom trail behind. Making a beeline for center mass of the hydra, the sigils on the shaft ignited a gentle blue flame as it drew closer. Like a blazing meteor hurtling towards the planet at extinction-causing speed, [Gungnir] aimed itself for a killing blow to the heart.

It was over in a sliver of a second. From where Toreii was floating, [Gungnir] pierced through the hydra dead center, leaving a swelling mass of frozen flesh. The azure flames which engulfed her spear was a truthful life. The Uru metal had an ice enchantment aptly named [Ghost Fire], which was a permafrost so cold, it actually felt like being burned alive. A gaping hole was left in the hydra's chest cavity where [Gungnir] had exited clean through. His dripping blood became chunky at first, which then froze to crystalline shapes as it came into contact with the freezing air. On the hydra's backside, [Gungnir] was still clean and pristine, like the giant mass of thickly armored hide and muscle was nothing but thin air to it.

Yet, Toreii had no time to bask in victory. Despite such a devastating blow to the huge target, the hydra was regenerating the wound slowly but surely. His backbone, which was jagged like shrapnel with splits and bits of bone embedded in his body, straightened out as the tiny white particles reformed into a proper skeletal system. Hanging entrails leaking bodily fluid and leftover, half-digested raw meat reattached themselves to form a cohesive body. Piece by piece, bits by bits, his body healed what it could and regrew everything else. The 3 forearms he had used to guard himself against the attack were nothing more than pieces of meat loosely hanging from tendons and torn muscle, but within seconds, new bones had regrown, as well as muscle mass forming over his arms and appendages.

'_I hate tank meta… Who thought it would be a good idea to give tanks damage __**and**_ _self-healing?! So unbalanced… I know it's rich coming from me, but your powers are bullshit!'_

The most damning fact was how unfazed the hydra was in reaction to getting his innards disemboweled. Although Toreii was sure there would be at least be pain, it seemed hydras really were known for their healing factor. It simply roared in anger, at the humiliation he felt from that single attack. Had the devs actually released something like this in Yggdrasil, many of the lower-skilled guilds would never even come close to clearing it. So, with all the information she had gathered thus far, she reached her small hand into the void which was her inventory. Feeling around for a bit, she grasped a laced handle and pulled the weapon out.

Even with armor-ignoring properties, [Gungnir] failed when it came to specialized beings who needed more than just raw stats to take down. The weapon she pulled out was a katana, wrapped in a red string along its wooden sheath, whose length was just twice as long as her forearm. This was a blade she kept personally close to herself, only bringing out for _certain_ Players.

By her count, the katana was going to experience its second battle in the last 8 years since its creation. Unbinding the protective covering, the curved metal edge underneath shone a pristine chrome. Very few of these types of katanas were ever created since their data crystals were not only rare, but also only needed in very niche situation. Back in Yggdrasil, Ai would watch very closely every time one of these katanas were made, keeping tabs on their creators and their current owners. Within the small community who owned theses blades, herself included, Players had decided to name these types of swords as [Muramasa Blades].

As she had made sure to keep the blades from getting into public hands, very few knew of the existence of the weapon, with only rumors going around about what the swords actually do. The rumors themselves were falsified, as she had spread them onto online forums in order to keep the actual effect from being learned. In truth, she had spent so much effort to mystifying these swords, only to end up being the one to collect all of them in the end. Being part of the small community which forged these weapons, everyone knew each other and were on friendly terms with one another. Having been the last remaining member, many either gave their version of the sword to her for safekeeping, or take it to their virtual grave when they logged off for one last time.

The reason she had been so keen on keeping watch over the blades were because of their niche effect from the data crystals which produced them. Each and every katana had the special ability to stop any and all forms of healing, including self-healing like health regeneration. Naturally, to a player like her, a single swipe from any of these swords would be enough to kill her. Not only did it impede healing, but it also inflicted a crippling status on the wounded, where the player could no longer use the limb the sword had cut. Thus, with such a devilish effect, these blades were considered cursed, rightfully earning the name of [Muramasa]. Although these katanas were her bane, in a battle of attrition, Toreii weighed the risk of using the sword very carefully.

With her dimensional spell having almost run all of its duration, cracks of white light spread throughout the black sphere encasing the both of them. The seams grew larger and larger as the light pouring in grew brighter and brighter. The hydra was almost fully healed from his fatal wound as her divine spear returned to her side. In one hand she gripped her [Muramasa Blade], and in the other, [Gungnir].

There were no longer any words exchanged by Toreii and the hydra. As the spell finally released the last bits of its energy, the two of them were enveloped by a deafening silence. The bleak night air brimming with the smell of blood was gone, as was every other familiar scene the two of them were previously in. Instead of dimples of light scattered across the black sky, the hydra was blinded by a golden yellow light shining behind where Toreii floated.

––– Static.

Just as fast as their new battlefield took shape, Nyx felt an intense, unknown pressure pulling him toward the blinding light. However, inside him, his lungs burned with agitation, yet his outer skin felt like it was freezing. His elemental heads, which burned with living flames, extinguished themselves, leaving nothing but a bone husk behind, whereas his aquatic heads froze in place, becoming icicles. Meanwhile, his plant-based heads were all covered in a layer of ice, with some of them bursting from the sudden temperature drop. Yet the worse to react to the new scene were all of his living heads, which all writhed in a panic state, roaring their discomfort, but nothing of their terror could be heard. All his ethereal head could hear was a quiet silence, like it was impossible for sound to even exist.

––– STATIC! STATIC! STATIC!

**Pain.**

Nyx's body of living flesh and blood twisted and cried out in suffering, his lungs no longer carrying any breathable air for his hearts. Every part of his being was dying slowly, as he could no longer fight against the oppressive force acting on his body. He was hurtling toward the yellow light faster and faster, where the coldness of the unknown air became scorching hot the closer he got.

**Pain- Pain- Pain- Pain- Pain- Pain- Pain- Pain- Pain- Pain- Pain- Pain- Pain- Pain!**

Ai was glad her risk assessment was on point, and the devs were not shitty when programing the racial abilities of her character during the beta. She always wanted to test out the upper limitations of what a [Deity] was capable of, yet Ai had never imagined Toreii actually surviving in the vacuum of space. [Deities] were beings capable of living without air or sustenance, but testing out that limit in the deadliest environment was like a child making parallels between riding a bike and flying a plane. But the vacuum of space was the least worrying part about their destination. Behind her was bright G-class star, a yellow dwarf sun, which gave birth to all life on the new world she was teleported to.

When she first acquired [Gungnir], gravitational effect negation was one of the abilities she scribed to her memory, but testing it out against a star which was hundreds of times bigger than a planet was lunacy, to say the least. Not to mention the elemental damage from the harsh environment which teleporting to the upper atmosphere of a giant ball of atomic fusion would cause.

Although she had jokingly answered the hydra's question about her spear, she did not think her spell would end after she said a destination out loud. The spell, [Parallel Convergence], was meant to isolate a single player from a group or party if one were to ever be ambushed, and the caster was able to set a destination both of them would teleport to afterwards. However, the spell scaled in distance the caster wanted to travel based on their magical stat. Having said, "_At the sun_," as a reference to the origins of [Gungnir], Ai was quite blindsided when she felt the drop in atmospheric pressure.

As Toreii exited the dimensional sphere, she exhaled every last breath she still had. The giant mass of swelling flesh spiraling toward her was the reason why. The muscular torso with chiseled abs and stone hard pectoral grew taut against his reptilian skin. Like a balloon growing bigger and bigger, so did the leftover air inside of the hydra's lungs. With no atmosphere to keep the gasses in place, the tiny particles inside threw themselves against his internal organs like a frag grenade. Having grown thrice in size, he looked more like an anaconda who had swallowed an elephant.

She could hear him mentally groan, more from the physical exertion than his vocal chords, which had certainly gone in this condition. Even without a satisfying 'pop' in the silence of space, Ai still played the sound effect in her head. Chunks of blood, guts, innards and entrails alike exploded out in every which way, all of them freezing in the ever-compassing entropy of space. Despite all of these things against the hydra, his healing still kicked in just as fast as his organs were being destroyed. Ai was quite jealous of how well his healing factor was working, since she had to limit herself to a minuscule healthpool in order to achieve the same effect.

She would file that thought for later. The gravity of a planet, multiplied a hundredfold or more, pulled the pieces of frozen flesh toward her. Toreii gripped the embroiled handle of her [Muramasa Blade] gently, feeling the tendons and muscles inside her arm working in conjunction as she positioned herself for a clean slice. Gold amber eyes locked themselves onto the single head of the hydra, as he continued to close the distance between them. The single head which was unaffected by dead of space, the single head which sparkled just as majestically as the night sky. Toreii readied her cursed blade and shot out like a railgun at the hydra.

A trail of gold lightning followed behind Toreii, along with a calm, cold blue glow on the metal spearhead of [Gungnir] from her mana being channeled through the magic metal. She knew for sure the divine spear was capable of hurting corporeal beings, but only the katana had the special ability to suppress the hydra's self-healing. A faint hue of silver shone on the blade, just as Toreii casted her final spell of the fight.

––– [Atomic Acceleration]

The steady beat of her heart matched with the rhythm of the mana pulsing in [Gungnir]. She arched her back, tensing her arm muscles like an Olympic athlete ready for the javelin throw. Faster than she could perceive, the heavenly spear disappeared from her hand, shooting out like a beam of light. Her spell acted like a projectile accelerator, which was often utilized by sniper archers or long-range mages. However, the devs had made the spell scale with one's magical prowess. The game of Yggdrasil had an upper limit of how much these spells could scale like her teleportation magic. Servers which hosted the game and did real-time calculations for spells were no longer running. As far as she knew, the only limit was her imagination.

As fast as time would allow, [Gungnir] was in her grasp and then it was gone, shooting like an arrow shot out of a particle collider. The hoard of dragon heads was sliced cleanly and evenly, as simple and practiced as a master butcher would do with his cleaver. The spear rocketed forth beyond them, shooting straight back toward the planet.

However, Toreii had no time to observe the damages, as the severed necks were already regrowing its bone structure. The cursed blade in her left hand reflected the solar light behind her, as she propelled herself forward beyond escape velocity. Toreii's eyes locked on the single head which did not grow itself back, but was trying to reattach itself.

The single ethereal head was drifting toward the sun along with its massive body. Having entered the heliosphere, a crimson orange cone of solar fire covered the hydra's black body, burning the flesh as fast as the body tried to repair itself. Even with no need to breathe, even with gravitational protection, and even with an ice shield as cold as Jötunheimr itself, she was not immune to the ferocity of space. The light, soft white skin on her body burned from the gamma radiation, as vertigo started to set in from the radiation sickness. Even with a body of a [Deity], Toreii could not compete against the unrelenting force of a lifeless environment. Every cell in her body was being cooked inside out, while her outer body was freezing.

If she was back in Yggdrasil, Toreii would have had been under negative effects such as poisoned, blindness, freezing, burning, and confusion. Yet the main difference between the game and now was the agonizing pain which kept building inside of her pubescent body. There might have been simulated pain which was nothing more hurtful than a tiny pinch on the skin, but that was more of an indicator the player was taking damage. Being cooked alive just above the surface of the sun as she also froze on the outside was bloodcurdling.

Ai thought her imaginary migraine was causing her to lose her mentality, but that paled in comparison to trying to escape the solar winds of the sun. Never once in her sheltered life did she experience pain more severe than scratching her knee. Now, she wanted nothing more than to writhe on the floor, screaming at the top of her lungs, pulling her hair off of her scalp, and to scratch at her burning flesh until every last piece of inflamed skin was torn off in a bloody mess. Her bones felt brittle enough that flying any faster would cause her entire endoskeleton to shatter into a billion tiny pieces smaller than grains of sand.

Even though Toreii had a greater pain tolerance than a regular human, the young [Deity] still had the mental limitation of a human. Ai's consciousness was ebbing in and out, as she willed herself to remain in control. The single shining head of the hydra was her light at the end of the tunnel. Two sets of huge muscular arms swiped at her, but with such a small body, she had easily evaded the last-ditch effort to bring her down.

Behind her, as the hydra burned up even faster as it got closer to the bright, hot orange surface, several of the non-living heads which were immune to living status effects shot beams of lightning, frost, and fire at her with panicked, yet impeccable mechanical aim. In the corner of her eye, the magical attacks were fast approaching her, but at the same time, it also accelerated the hydra further towards its own demise. Maneuvering herself, bobbing and weaving, the trio of elemental beams instead found their mark on the decapitated heads instead, spewing blood and grey matter everywhere.

She could feel his frustration at being toyed around. Yes, that's exactly what she's doing – playing around with a murderous, Level-100 hydra. Finally reaching her destination, the ethereal head was very much still alive, flailing desperately in the zero-g environment. From the back of the neck to the front snout, the entire head itself was almost twice as tall as Toreii's body was. Despite the disparity in size, she still gripped the ghost-like horns on the back of the head to avoid the flesh-ripping fangs in the front.

Just as she got a firm grip, 100 beams of lighting, fire and arcane magic silently flew past her, hitting more floating, decapitated heads. She felt pain from her exposed flesh touching him, but she guessed he felt even worse – having someone right at one's blind spot could be incredibly discomforting, after all.

On the surface of the sun, a giant black body, which was half-melted with its organs spilling out, was regrowing them just as fast. The thousands of heads which were chopped off had already regenerated, while its muscular forearms clawed their way through the immense gravity pulling the hydra down to the core of the star. Each passing second, more and more arcs of magic and elemental spells were shot at her. The most regrettable part was the mechanical heads began a mechanized transformation of themselves, as metal wires sprouted from their machine necks and tethered itself onto the hot, energy-filled surface. The orange-yellow matter pulsed their way up the spiny necks, gathering at the base of the throat where the solar energy was now being charged to fire on her. Dozens of heads, one by one, fired scathing hot rays in her direction.

'_WHY WON'T YOU DIE?! THAT'S LITERALLY THE SURFACE OF THE SUN!'_

Dodging the projectiles, Toreii flew in an unorthodox manner as to create as chaotic a movement as she could. However, she deliberately moved while gripping the main head to shield herself from the few unavoidable blasts. Tension from underneath her told of the silent pain the main head endured under the assault from its own body, but he could not shake her off. She silently counted upwards the time since she threw her spear, while the mystical head thrashed about in her hand as to loosen her grip on his horn. All Ai could focus on now was surviving. If the sun, a giant ball of nuclear gas, was unable to kill the hydra, very few things in her arsenal would be able to handle such a fast healing factor.

'_ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! YOUR POWERS ARE BULLSHIT!'_

Having launched the spear at light speed just about 7 minutes ago, Ai hoped her math and judgement were on point. Although she knew for sure she aimed the spear in the general direction of the new world, she did not know the exact distance [Gungnir] would have to travel. If she teleported to her spear too early, she would have to face the protective layer of the atmosphere upon reentry. Teleporting too late, and the divine spear would have enough momentum to cut through the planet. Of course, one of these outcomes was better than the other.

A sigil burned a cool blue on the back of her right hand. Toreii would try her luck with misjudging the distance back home. The fact the hydra was out-healing being burned alive by the surface of the sun, as well as using the power of the star to fire at her, did not bode well for her chances of winning. From her massive mana reserves, like an ocean of power at its calmest, Toreii felt the warm magical essence flow through her veins to the sigil, despite being numb throughout her entire body. From her peripherals, a dozen more solar beams were on their way to hitting their mark on her, but she had already channeled the magic in her sigil.

––– Pfwwt!

In a flash of neon gold, a tiny young girl holding the head of ethereal dragon head twice her size vanished, alongside said appendix. The everlasting silence of space raged on for Toreii, as her eyes adjust from having blinding yellow light burning her retinas to a calmer scene of a giant blue marble. Letting go of the head, her right hand once again grasped the familial shaft of [Gungnir]. The air was very thin, but there was still enough for her lungs to get a small breath in.

Never was she so glad to be back to Earth, or at least a version of her home planet.

No, this planet was vastly different from the one she grew up in. The black skies where everything was covered with acidic clouds was nowhere to be seen, replaced by blotches of puffy white clouds lazily drifting to the will of the wind. Land which was once covered by grey metropolitan cities as far as the horizon went were gone, like they never existed in the first place. The new Earth was lush, green, and filled with life as far as her eyes could see. Mountains, plateaus, valleys, jungles, deserts, and the bluest ocean she had ever seen in her entire life.

The dawn was slowly creeping across the land below her, life below mobilizing in response to the warmth. Birds flying in V-formations, herds of wild horses roaming the flatland, while villages of every kind of species were beginning their day. Orcs, ogres, trolls, giants, centaurs, goblins, harpies, dragons, but most importantly, humans had formed some form of society within their respective kin. However, there were no skyscrapers towering above the cloud line, no mega homes which crammed as many families into it as possible, no dust storms which wiped out all life in its path, and no dark cities where the poor was segregated in.

Humans seemed to have simple lives, farmers and ranchers who tended to their crops and animals. Small settlements were formed around the edges of the forest with dirt trails connecting to one another. Horse drawn carriages moved to-and-fro between farms, but they all seem to head towards what Ai assumed was a capital city. Stone walls covered the exterior, while smaller homes littered the outer ring. Said houses increased in build quality as her eyes crept closer to the epicenter, where a castle stood tall, or at least a bigger-than-usual fortress.

Ai might have a bias towards the human architecture, having lived in the flying castle of Asgard, but the small city was just that, a small city. Nothing was of note about it beside the increased size compared to the other farming villages. In fact, this world seemed to be a downgrade in terms of technology. There were no signs of electricity having been fully implemented or utilized. At most, she saw irrigation systems, but even those were rudimentary.

A mixture of excitement and wonder made Ai's imaginary heart flutter, like the time Yggdrasil got its Valkyrie expansion. She had no idea how or why she had come to this new world, but thus far, things seemed to follow the same rules and guidelines the game did. Although she was hesitant to ask, the treasure seeker part of Ai wondered what the loot drops in this world were. Even if she did not outright kill the hydra, she felt she still filled the conditions of defeating said raid boss. Yet, no data crystals dropped – nor any kind of reward, for that matter, not even a single coin of gold.

'_Did the rewards drop back on the sun…? Am I thinking too much into this? Do I have to turn in the quest somewhere? Ahh… Not having a hud sucks… Maybe the rewards are in the head I brought back?'_

"**DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!"**

'_How are you still talking?! You don't have a neck for a voice! Ahh… I almost forgot…'_

––– _**Swink.**_

The cold steel of the katana swiped across the severed flesh which hung loosely from the base of the neck for a cleaner cut. Reaching back into her inventory, she placed her cursed blade back into its resting place. Although mythology has stated hydras regrow their heads, Toreii was not taking any changes if a head happen to regrow a body, especially after seeing the hydra's healing powers. Having thought she built her character around a unique concept, Ai was quite envious of someone else doing it better.

"You wouldn't happen to know if some crystals dropped nearby, would you?"

Nyx remained silent, lost in thought. Although he was planets away from his body, he was still able to feel a connection to it, or at least he did until a moment ago. The single-sided blade which sliced his neck left a cold feeling in the back of his mind. His mind which was once filled with thousands of voices was now devoid of everything but his own. It was quiet, almost deafening, like a silence where he was truly alone. The heartbeat he could feel despite being cut off from his body was now nowhere to be heard. He could still command his body even if his own head was decapitated, but that notion was now gone with the wind. The wails from hundreds of living heads starved of air was gone. The black armored body, which survived an onslaught of fire hotter and more ferocious than the blackest hellfire from eldritch demons which he could feel every part of, felt distant, like a forgotten memory. The arrogance he boasted, confidence in his own immortality, was left back with his main body.

"I'll take your silence as a no."

"**What… What is that blade made of… My body… I can't feel my body…"**

'_All heads can't feel their body when they get cut off… Is he talking about my [Muramasa Blade]? Does it have a new effect in this new world? Did all my equipment keep their old effects? Ahh… I should test that out later…'_

From the corner of her vision, Asgard came into view. The flying fortress glowed a bright golden brilliance, dwarfing the natural light of the sun in lustrous shine. The once gloomy weather of thunder clouds above the city was no longer there, instead replaced by a thin barrier of magic pulsing with life. Although she did not explicitly call the city forth, it seemed Heimdall had worked the [Bifrost] to teleport Asgard to her location.

The eternal body of Toreii was still in peak conditions, ready for another raid boss fight. Despite sharing the same body with the immortal youth, Ai felt years drag on inside of her mind. The bright, topaz-colored eyes on the adolescent masked what Ai actually felt underneath. Having stayed up all throughout the night, she could feel her phantom body aching. Dark circles felt heavy around her eyes while her arms were like lead bricks which dragged her back down to the ground. Although aging was the least of her concerns now, Ai felt like every minute was akin to a decade passing by.

'_Ahh… Now I know why Odin wanted to sleep all the time… Home really is where the bed is…'_

Ai's new home floated in the distance. She had never considered herself to reside in anything bigger than her apartment, thus making the sudden change in housing conditions jarring. Closing in on her was the familiar shine of a platinum colored armor with an icy sheath hoisted at the waist.

"My King! You have returned to me, victorious!" Frigga declared with a cheerful voice, "You truly live up to your title of Conqueror of Worlds!"

"**Warmonger! All of you! All you players deserved to be eradicated! This land will never know peace until the last of your kind is hunted and killed!"**

"Your tongue is quick slick for something about to be made into carpet."

Although the bickering continued on for quite a bit, Ai did not mind it too much. It reminded her of what her classroom of students would do on a daily basis. As an assistant professor, she saw many types of students for whom she formed categories in her mind. Frigga was very much like a student dedicated only school, meeting with the professor in their office constantly. However, tinges of stalker syndrome started to leak into Ai's perception of the Queen of Asgard. Even if there were no obvious signs that Frigga was watching her every action like a big brother government, Ai knew for a fact the devs had programmed in absolute devotion into her backstory, which was why she had no qualms about Frigga being the sole Asgardian to be left behind the city's teleporting.

Still, Ai would have to go back and reread every NPC's backstory and lines of code. Knowing the devs, there would have been something too accurate or a bug that would end up getting her killed. There was usually no middle ground with anything the devs had their hand in, which meant that Ai was in as much danger in Asgard as she was in the new world. In the back of her mind a throbbing started to boom through her skull again, like pin needles sticking themselves into her head were growing to knife size.

The colors of the rising sun over the horizon began blurring, as if their bright, warm hues were leaking. Streaks of orange-yellow sunshine became muted along with the sky losing its lustrous blue. The world around her full of bright colors became a void of blackness as she lost sight in her vision. Her arms which felt as heavy as lead, had the numbing feeling spread to the rest of her imaginary body. It was like Ai was in the middle of winter without a jacket, the cold spreading everywhere until it began to feel warm again. The last thing she saw was Frigga rushing to her with an arm reached out to catch her.

_This was a fun dream… I wish it didn't end…_

* * *

**AN:** Although I didn't outright say it, I did want to confirm that Nyx is a dragon lord, albeit an inexperienced one. Any thoughts on the battle? Was it what you expected? Did the hydra actually die on the sun? Just things to keep in mind. Sorry that this chapter took so long to put out.


	6. Chapter 6 - Home Base

Ai had never been more comfortable in her life. Ever since she started living on her own, a single mattress with a thin blanket was the only thing which sheltered her during the night in her tiny apartment complex. She did not know how long she had been sleeping, but for now, if her alarm was not ringing, then there was no need for her to get up. Curled up with her knees tucked in, Ai slept like she was in a king-sized bed with sheets made of the finest material she never knew of before. Although her eyes were still shut, it was comforting to know the sheets covered her in darkness. Unfurling her limbs, the tension in her arms and legs tensed up as she stretched them across the smooth coverings.

'_Ahh~~~ I must've been extra tired yesterday… My bed is sooooo comfy… What did I do yesterday? Hmm… It was my day off… but I don't remember much… Was I playing Yggdrasil? I feel like I did, but the servers should be off by now… I remember fighting a new raid boss… What did I do yesterday…?'_

She continued to ruffle around in the darkness of the sheets, but her ears pricked to the sound of voices in her room. Her heartbeat boomed inside of her ears, as she forced herself to stop her breathing to listen in better.

"...happening. Heimdall should have foreseen this! Have you gone blind, old man?!" A slick voice Ai had not heard before said.

'_I guess I wasn't dreaming last night… The game __**did**_ _become real… But is that so bad? Did Frigga carry me to bed? Ahh… I wish I had a better recollection of it.'_

"The Allfather has put his faith in my vision above everyone else's. My recount was clear! It was by his will that Asgard be safeguard first. He valued the lives of his sons before his own! **YET! **_You_ have decided your judgement is bett-"

"**Enough!** All of you!" A feminine voice interrupted, which was quite familiar to Ai. "We are still in the presence of the Allfather. Odin must recover his strength before another threat to Asgard presents itself. In that time, we must see to it the Odin Sleep is not interrupted."

"Of course, Mother! I completely agree with you wholeheartedly about this matter. However, I am more corned about the immediate lack of leadership. _Who_ will be in command while the Allfather sleeps?"

"You are walking a thin line, Loki," Heimdall immediately retorted, almost growling with his low voice.

'_That was Loki? Like, the God of Mischief, Loki? Ahh… This could be troublesome…'_

"Had Odin appointed someone to be in command during his Odin Sleep, I would not bring up this issue! The noble houses will look to another leader if the Allfather could not rise up to protect Asgard."

**\- Shink.**

The air cracked with a metallic hum, before the sound of metal striking stone echoed within the bedchamber. "**Thin line**," interjected Heimdall.

'_Am I listening to a soap opera? They sound so dysfunctional… I guess the devs did write their backstories… I should reread their bios later.'_

"No, Heimdall, I agree with Loki on this matter," spoke a new voice. His tone was confident and powerful, like a proud warrior. The voice was not quite as low or aged like Heimdall, but still carried the same amount of status the vanguard had.

"Thank you, dear brother! We must consider the greater good of Asgard!"

'_Ugg… Thor… You are not helping the situation… And you! Loki! Are you always going to act up? This isn't my funeral and this isn't my deathbed! Is this what relatives do when you're getting old? We're in the same room! At least talk about this in some other room… Should I speak up? Why does Thor get the Odinson title? Favorite son my ass!'_

"This is a discussion for when Odin has recovered his strength. If he deems the matter important enough, he will appoint _someone_, but if not, then both of you shall drop this matter."

'_At least there is __**one **__voice of reason… Ahh, I can feel my affection meter for Frigga filling up.'_

A small silence filled the room, in which Ai could only hear her breathing and her heartbeat in her ear. She was fully awake by now, but did not have any idea how long she had been sleeping. Had it been a day? A week? With no HUD, the only reliable time frame were her cooldowns. The buffs had their effects weakened by now, but their cooldowns were far from being back up functional again. At most, she estimated she had slept for a single day.

"I concur," said Heimdall, "If the Odinson wishes for this matter to be settled, then I will respect your decision. However, to decide anything now would be disrespectful to our Allfather."

"Are we all just going to wait around until the Odin Sleep ends? Should I hold you accountable then if a threat presents itself to Asgard and there is a lack of leadership?"

"Patience, Brother. I think-"

Ai had already lost interest in the conversation, not because it was boring, but because she felt rumbling in her imaginary stomach. Her actual body, which did not need air or subsistence, felt at the peak of any immortal being, despite having sunbathed on the surface of _a star_. However, with the mind of a human, she was still stuck with human needs. The last time she ate was well over 2 days ago, if she kept track correctly.

'_If all of Asgard became real, then does that mean the food in the kitchen also became real? Ugg, it feels like I haven't eaten in a week. Do they have instant ramen…? Wait… I'm in Asgard… Maybe eating ramen everyday ruined my taste in good food… What was my last cooked meal… Oh… It was at Christmas with Mom…'_

Some part of her being was excited to explore and experience new adventures in the unknown world she was transported to, but at the same time, her heartstrings felt like they were being pulled on. Still, a stray thought peaked itself into her mind.

'_Did I just inherit a family? Huh… A loving wife… A couple of kids… A big house with a front yard… I think… Am I the average suburban dad? Wait… Do they see me as __**me**__, or… as an image of Odin…?'_

Ai marked the thought down in her increasingly long laundry list of things to do in the new world. Muffled voices could still be heard from just outside her sleeping capsule, likely discussing more things to do about her absence. Now that the game was real, there were several more pressing matters Ai wanted to confirm about the castle before confronting the now-alive NPCs. Although her imaginary stomach derailed her thoughts, Toreii's keen ears picked up the ongoing conversation.

"...but it's not just my Father we should be worried about. We could not find you, Mother, when the Bifrost was activated. Your handmaid claim you were still within the castle, but neither I nor Loki could find you."

"Indeed, a good question for the Queen of Asgard. The Allfather teleported everyone and the city away, but I lost vision of you when it happened. Yet, the next time I felt your presence was when you rushed back into the castle, carrying Odin into this chamber," questioned Heimdall.

"Please, Brother, our mother has been through enough. After seeing the Allfather in this condition, I do not believe pushing Mother for answers is treating her right."

'_Ahh~ Loki was always a mama's boy. I guess that makes sense if Thor is Odin's favorite. Still… For a favorite son, he sure wanted to take the throne fairly quickly… Loki being Loki is one thing… But I thought Thor would at least wait for me to name him Allfather… What do I do with that boy…?'_

"The Allfather, returning to Asgard and going straight to Odin Sleep after activating the Bifrost, despite a legion of dragons flying just outside of the city, is more than enough ground to question the whereabouts of our Queen. If, at any point, your decisions lead to Odin's life being at risk, then I will hold you accountable," spoke the vanguard.

Once again, a pregnant pause filled the room. Ai had wanted to listen more to the normal conversation of the NPCs to figure out how each of them interacted, but a gnawing gut feeling told her an interjection on her part was going to be required soon. Having never been invited to any social circles, Ai did not have the courage to speak up at the moment.

"Do you know who you-"

"Do not fret, my son. Heimdall's concerns are perfectly reasonable, albeit frank. As Queen of Asgard and wife to Odin, I have my own responsibilities to the Allfather. If need be, I would lay down my life without hesitation for my beloved."

'_Why does she continue to call me that…? This isn't really love, though… She was just programmed by the devs to be like that… right? If I go by movie experience, an AI who gains the ability to think for itself is always bad… but the ones who learn about emotions and learn to love have a good ending… Is Frigga a killer AI who is in love with me…? I'm more worried about Thor and Loki though…'_

"We shouldn't be bickering in the Allfather's presence. Come, we should let him rest," spoke Frigga sweetly, "The nobles will have questions for us. I do think it is best we quell their questions until Odin can personally address them."

With the boom of heavy stone doors opening, Ai surmised there were no objections from the other NPCs. Once again, she felt her affection meter for Frigga filling up, like she was the heroine being conquered by the MC. She was glad she did not have to handle the flurry of questions by a large group of people. Large crowds were never her thing, which was why she was glad her students never showed up in office hours in the first place. Having heard the creaking of the doors closing, Ai breathed out a long sigh of relief.

'_What am I even doing? I'm not a father figure… Parenting Thor and Loki…'_

Ai's imagination ran wild with countless ways the brothers would go about ascending to the throne. Thor would be honest about it, either openly challenging her for the throne or asking Ai to step down as the Allfather. Loki, on the other hand, would undoubtedly plot something sinister to frame some poor innocent soul who'd secure him the throne after her mysterious death, which would of course be unconnected to him.

Although they were technically her sons now, an uneasiness loomed over Ai's heart. She did not want to spend the rest of her days looking over her shoulder, only to find a dagger in her heart. NPCs where supposed to be loyal to their creators, like the ones created in guilds to defend their bases. Ai heavily cursed the devs with her entire being, but at the same time, could not fault them for staying true to the characters of Thor and Loki.

Having lingered in bed long enough, Ai, gently pulled the sheets off of herself and stretched her tense, dainty arms. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes as a yawn forced itself out of her. Even though she had passed out after the fight with the hydra, she was still dressed in her PVP gear underneath her red and white robes. The golden capsule hissed open to reveal an empty room before her, only for her peripherals to catch something beside her.

'_**WAH**__! WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE?!'_

Both Ai and Toreii reeled back in shock and surprise, with her heart pounding a full ensemble in her ears. Kneeling right beside her capsule bed was Frigga, genteel and patient. Had Ai not gotten out of bed now, she wondered how long the NPC would wait for her in that position. The fine line between 'stalker' and 'loyal companion' grew thinner and thinner, as Ai jotted the crimson red flag down in her mind.

"You have awakened, my love. How was your rest?"

'_How can you say that with a straight face…? How long would you watch me sleep for…?'_

"I'm glad you're fine after that battle with the hydra."

A gentle glow of admiration burned brightly in her emerald eyes as Frigga looked at Toreii. "Thank you for your concern! I am undeserving of your precious time and attention," she replied bashfully, a rosy blush on her checks.

'_It's not like I have much of a choice… You were going to wait all day for me anyways… I need to set some bounds now… I don't want to lead her on… Can a husband lead his wife on? I know I'm Odin, but it's not like I'm… Odin…'_

"Did my armor protect you well? How was it? Were you hurt at all?"

"Of course not! Something created by your own hands will always be of the highest caliber! Nothing in this world will ever compare to your craftsmanship."

'_Please stop… It's embarrassing… At least I finally found a use for that armor. I should run some benchmarks with Frigga later.'_

"What happened after we returned to Asgard?"

Frigga looked unsure of herself for the briefest of seconds, but gave the best answer she could, "Heimdall saw me carrying you as soon as we entered the castle grounds. Thor and Loki followed him down to this chamber very quickly after. I'm afraid your presence will be required for an audience with your sons and the nobles. My apologies, my King, this was the best I could do in such a short time."

'_She wants me to speak in front of a large audience… I should have just jumped into the sun… or maybe let the hydra kill me… or just not get out of bed… Nobles? How do I talk in front of nobles? Do I need some special Class Perk to gain influence with them? Can I ever gain levels in Nobility? Can I go past Level 100 in this new world? I should test these things out soon…'_

"Must _I_ be the one to talk with them? Can you not deal with this in my stead? Is your word not as good as mine?"

"I am forever humbled to hear you speak such kind words, my love! To even be considered within the same authority as you is a great compliment. However, unless you say I have your authority in front of the nobles, there is very little that my title allows me."

'_UGGGGGGG…! Can't I just send everyone an email or something? This seems like something which can be summed up in a 5-minute email instead of a 3-hour meeting… Letters? Do I send out letters? I don't think I can write that many letters… But I don't want to speak in front of so many people… Would Frigga write 1000 letters…? She probably would… Maybe I can just sit there and Frigga can do all the talking?'_

"I've also done as you've instructed me and captured the dragonkin who dared attack you. To give your enemy mercy after going for your life is the highest form of kindness I have seen from a King. There hasn't been an opportune time to interrogate the prisoner for information, but with your permission, I'm sure I will live up to your expectations."

'_Ahh… I kind of forgot about that, didn't I? What do I do with prisoners? I've never had prisoners before… Are they only good for information? Do I need to play good cop/bad cop? Who would be good cop? I don't think I'll make a very good bad cop… What am I thinking…?! I'm not some dictator about to torture a group of resistance fighters! That's something… Odin… would do… Huh…'_

"Has she spoken yet? You haven't harmed her, have you?"

"The prisoner has not spoken since being captured. I have kept her hands and legs magically bounded, as well as secured her in a holding cell which can't be accessed by anyone else besides us."

'_What does she mean by 'can't be accessed'? Heimdall should have access to practically every place… except for 1 room… But she couldn't put the dragon girl into __**that room**__. Only Odin should know about its existence. I don't think I've ever been to that room once, so even if she followed me, she wouldn't have known… Why am I talking like its normal for me to be followed everywhere…?'_

"Would you kindly take me to her now? I will deal with the matter of Thor and Loki later. I will require your assistance with them and the nobles."

"Nothing would make me happier than to carry out your will, my love! The nobles will surely accept your words as they accept the fact that the sun will rise tomorrow." Slowly rising from her kneel, Frigga extended out her hand to help Toreii off of the bed like a prince offering his assistance to a newly awoken princess.

Not wanting to be rude or to make Frigga feel awkward, Ai accepted the gesture. Having been one to never moisturize or take care of her own skin, she was really surprised to feel how gentle and soft Frigga's cream-colored hand was. She had never once held hands with anyone else beside her mom, but even then it did not cause her heart to flutter in such a manner. Ai's heart was quietly pounding away inside of her, each thump louder than the last, as it echoed through her body and loudly in her ears. Memories of her first confession resurfaced once again, except this time, she was the one being asked out. Ai was lost, she did not know how to continue. To her, holding hands was the furthest she had ever gotten.

"Please lead the way."

* * *

Although her sleeping chamber was within the basement of the castle, even lower than the armory, Frigga had managed to lead Ai down even lower until they reached a hallway which split into two deadends. Ai became very cautious as soon as she learned of the path Frigga had led her on. No NPC should take the path they were on, nor should any of them know what lies at the end of the deadends. As they slowly stepped off the stairway, the stone corridor was nothing of note. At each end was a grey brick wall which closed off any further progress for the duo.

Ai was internally sweating, waiting patiently for Frigga to decide which wall they would proceed to. She was partly nervous because she had never held hands with someone else before, and also because of the secrets she kept behind each wall. Her heart had been racing ever since leaving the bedroom, but now the palpitations were borderline becoming an oncoming heart attack. Each second felt infinitely longer, dragging on for what felt like years in Ai's mind.

The short pause at the end of the stairway was nothing more than a second long, yet Ai felt like she aged years inside her psyche already. She thanked her lucky stars as Frigga lead them down the left hallway. Had she followed the Queen of Asgard to the right hallway, Ai would have been very hard-pressed on what to do with Frigga. Calming down from the near heart attack, Ai gladly followed the NPC to the stone wall.

With perfect precision, like she had done it hundreds of times before, Ai watch as Frigga pressed specific bricks on the wall. The Asgardian touched the bricks to draw the constellation of Libra, Virgo, and finally Ophiuchus, each time going in a specific order of star position. Ai, whose second worst enemy is her own memory, watched with envy as a clicking of gears started to work themselves behind the wall. Each brick sprung to life as they withdrew themselves back further into the wall, before sliding away to form a new entrance.

Having thought herself clever for devising such a complicated doorway to a hidden area, Ai was crushed to see another person access it so easily. Behind the wall was a rocky tunnel with a lone torch left at the entrance. Grabbing the torch, Frigga continued on with Toreii in hand. Had Ai not had her [Allfather] skill, it would have looked more akin to a mother leading a small child through a dark cave. Although the dev team created and designed everything in Asgard, Ai put everything beyond the stone wall herself.

Asgard was considered a fortress-sized dungeon, which meant Ai could form a guild base from it. Given that almost the entirety of the city's data was already used by the dev team, Ai had very little to work with, even with cash items to increase the data limit. Asgard was already pushing the upper limit in terms of data capacity a dungeon could hold, with most of it going towards the construction of Odin's castle. The tunnel she and Frigga was traveling through also cost her what precious little data was left.

Reaching the end of the not-so-long rock tunnel, a turquoise glow was overwhelming the orange flames of the torch. Opening up to a small chamber, Frigga left the torch on a stand mounted on a side wall. The chamber was domed in shape, with a flat floor but natural walls. Dead center was a small pond which was the source of the overpowering light, glowing a fluorescent hue, lighting up the ceiling as well as the prisoners whom Frigga had brought here.

The hydra head Toreii had decapitated was muzzled with several layers of silver chains, covering the entirety of the head, all connected to a metal pole stuck into the ground. Just to the right, stripped of the black draconic armor Ai saw earlier, was the dragon girl who tried to strike her down. Now dressed in basic rags, her arms and legs had been bound with the same silver chains, tied to the same pole as her father. A cloth rag was stuck in her mouth to prevent anything from being said between the two prisoners, but Ai could clearly see the disdain in her amber eyes, the very same emotions her father had.

Ai was quite surprised Frigga had known about this room, let alone the combination to the secret entrance. First, she had found Ai's oh-so-secret stash she kept in their shared room, and now the NPC had not only uncovered this secret room, but also the combination to unlock it. Ai did not distinctly remember ever telling Frigga these things or showing her, but the fact remains these secrets were common knowledge to the NPC. Once again, her 'stalker' theory about Frigga was compounding evidence for itself, with Ai being slowly coerced into accepting a Stockholm Syndrome-type romance.

"As you've instructed, I've brought back the prisoners to Asgard without anyone finding out. I have yet to personally question them, but if need be, by your word I will produce something satisfactory of your high expectations. To attack Odin is to wage war against all of Asgard. **No one survives a war against the Asgardians,"** declared Frigga earnestly.

'_Okaaaaaaay… Maybe slowly down there with the threats of genocide… We're not __**that**_ _kind of hierarchy. Where does this side of her come from? She was so cute earlier…'_

"No need for empty threats, Frigga. I'm sure we can all come to a non-violent understanding," Toreii spoke out, trying to quell the lioness from baring her fangs.

Taking a closer look at the dragon daughter, she was closer to a humanoid with dragon features. She had a normal feminine face with soft checks, but her shoulder-length hair was a glossy black. Her body was similar to Frigga, in that it was lean, but with signs of muscles underneath each arm and leg. The girl's hands had reptilian scales near the knuckles, which Ai guessed was to protect them. Instead of regular trimmed nails, long talons protruded at the ends of her fingertips. From the girl's back, Ai saw dragon wings chained down to keep them from unfurling fully. Having been with Frigga for so long, Ai could have developed a bias towards how to judge another female's beauty. She did not know if it was because of the dragon genes or the human side of the girl, but on a beauty scale of '1' to 'Frigga', the girl was probably a 4 – just below average.

The dragon girl stared daggers at Frigga and Toreii, but the Asgardian merely shrugged off the hateful gesture. As if seeing her captors invigorated her spirit, she struggled even harder against her restraints, rattling the chains holding her.

"MHMMA! HWMMUA!"

Frigga had already taken a defensive stance with a ready grip on the sword handle at her side. Wanting to de-escalate the hostility between the two women, Toreii gently tugged on Frigga hand to get her attention away from the girl.

"Let's use our words, Frigga. Would you kindly take off her gag?"

"If that is your will, my love," replied Frigga lovingly. Walking to the dragon girl, the Asgardian carefully untied the cloth gag stuffing her mouth.

"I WILL KI-"

**\- SLAP!**

"Please choose your words _very_ carefully around the presence of a _King_," Frigga warned in a stern voice. "I would start by introducing yourself in a more respectful manner." Without letting the girl recover in the slightest from the sudden slap, Frigga had already grabbed a handful of hair and slammed the girl's head down to the ground, forcing her into a bowing position.

'_Okaaaaaaaaaaaay… Not remotely __**at all**_ _what I thought she would do… Do I stop her…? But Frigga is being kind of scary… Ahh… I'm sorry… Please bear with it… I don't want to confront a scary person right now! What do I do… Should I just introduce myself? Do I say I'm Odin or Toreii?'_

"No need for s-such excessive force, Frigga! We are the invaders in this new land. Let's not start with further hostility," Toreii begged the Asgardian urgently, sensing even more anger from the girl.

"These inferior beings don't deserve your mercy, my King! Your benevolence knows no bounds! However, there is a bare minimum amount of respect which should be given to a king, however foreign. Useless beings such as these will never know their place unless we, their rightful rulers, show them their true worth!"

'_I have to stop this kind of mentality now before it gets worse…'_

"Stand down, Frigga. Only _I_ decide the worth of others."

"I mean no disrespect, my King! Please forgive me!" Frigga frantically exclaimed, quickly letting go of the dragon girl and kneeling before Toreii.

"We'll discuss more of this later, Frigga. Watch the entrance for any others who might come down. I will call for you when I need anything." Without waiting for the NPC to agree, Toreii walked past Frigga and next to the dragon girl. Being forced to bow on the stone ground had made her cheeks crimson red, likely from the impact. The earlier show of pride and bravado was silenced quickly by the Asgardian, which made it harder for Ai to approach the inhabitants.

"Are you hungry? Did she give you something to eat yet?" Toreii asked in a low and quiet whisper. She did not know how well Frigga's hearing worked, but a gentle conversation should steer their perception of her in a better direction.

'_She played bad cop too well… How am I supposed to follow up on that…?'_

"My father was right about your kind! You're nothing more than a harbinger of death," spat the dragon girl.

'_Ahh… What a bad first impression… How many war crimes did we commit… Asgardians and war crimes…? What an iconic duo.'_

"Was I the first of my kind you've seen before? Were there other Players? Why did we come to this world?"

"I don't know, and even if I did, why would I ever tell you? My father had killed your kind before, and he won't be stopped by something as small as you!"

'_He killed a Player before? So I'm not the first to come here? How long ago was that? Can Players revive in this new world? Will I lose levels and resurrect, or will I just die? That's…'_

"Can you at least tell me your father's name? I would like to know the name of the strongest being around. Surely as his daughter, you know of his true strength? Names have power."

The dragon girl opened her mouth for a quick answer, but nothing came out before she closed it again. There was a slight hesitation, but Ai was glad her gamble worked. Dragons were a prideful race, and playing to their pride was easy for anyone who knew about dragon lore.

"My father is the proud and strong Dragon Lord, Nyx Al-Shun, second only to the Dragon Emperor! You should know this name well. It is the highest honor you will ever receive before your death!"

"Nyx Al-Shun, the Dragon Lord… Does that sound familiar, Solomon?"

"Solomon…? Who are you talking to? What is a 'Solomon'?!"

"I have found 187 subjects with keywords involving 'dragon', 'lord', and 'nyx'. However, I don't have any record of 'Nyx Al-Shun' or 'Dragon Lord'. Would you like to start a new entry?" The scribe asked, appearing out of thin air like an apparition. He was still dressed in the worn-down garbs Ai last saw him in. Ai was glad Solomon only appeared for her, but at the same time, wondered if she looked crazy just talking to herself or an imaginary person.

"I've never heard the name before. This Dragon Emperor sounds more important than some Dragon Lord. Can you tell me about the Emperor? Does he rule all over a kingdom? Or just dragons? A kingdom of dragons? What's the difference between a Lord and Emperor?"

"You won't get the answers out of me! I see through your lies and deception! My father has been right all along about your kind, and how you will do anything to get what you want," she sneered back.

"I'm sorry you think that way about Players. Not all of us are as bad as you think."

'_Most of the player base is pretty bad though… How many encounters with Players did it take for them to realize it? How many did it take __**me**_ _to realize that…? Only one? Then… was everyone transported? If Asgard and I were transported, then did everyone with a base teleported? But… it doesn't sound like everyone was transported at the same time…'_

"Is your father a Player?"

'_Maybe I should have phrase that differently…'_

"WHAT?! Who are you to say such an atrocious thing?!"

"All the other dragonkin, wyverns, drakes, and tiamats, did not cast Tier Magic like your father did. Unless they were ordered not to, I'm guessing dragons of any race are not able to cast the same magic spells as Players can, which brings me to my next point. What race was the Player whom you claim your father killed?"

"And why is that important to you? Why do you need to know?"

Ai had her own theories about it, but she felt like a conspiracist connecting dots on a map which had no obvious connection to one another. For now, she wanted to gleam how much the girl knew, if she knew about Yggdrasil or how much her father knew.

"The armor you wore… It was not _unfamiliar_. You could say it belonged to a set."

"What about it? Why do you care about it? It belongs to me now!"

"I guess it does…"

'_Niflheim… The World Champion of Niflheim came here too… What happened to you?'_

* * *

**AN:** Sorry this took so long, I've been busy with exams and finals and haven't had much time to sit down and write. It's a bit of a slow chapter, but I did want to introduce the main NPCs that the protagonist will have to interact with. Hopefully the next chapter will be out faster than this one. Thank you for the patience!


	7. Chapter 7 - Mother Knows Best

All of them were from different backgrounds, different worlds, different races, and different classes. Yet each and every one of them had a single common ground among each other. From the 9 realms, each of the World Champion knew each other, with Toreii being the second-to-last among them to gain the title. Rumors spread about a secret council formed exclusively by the World Champions, but as Ai had learned, it was more of a gentlemen's club – all genders and races inclusive, of course. The devs were more open to communicating with the World Champion, which seemed like a blessing at first, but her experience as the Champion of Asgard was more akin to a community manager. Ideas for holiday events were given to them first, with the Champions giving feedback and delegating between the devs and the community.

Overall, Ai did manage to meet quite a bit of people from the game she enjoyed so much. Although not much of a talker, Ai did listen and follow up on the lives of the other World Champions and what was going on in their respective worlds, with some of them delving into their own personal lives as conversation pieces. Ai never went as far as to tell any of them of her real profession, but nonetheless, she felt, _maybe_ she had managed to make some semblance of friendship among them. The most curious interaction she had seen was between the humanoid and heteromorphic Champions. In their respective worlds, Álfheim and Niflheim, their players were at odds with one another. Humans, half-humans, and humanoid characters hated heteromorphic, undead, or demonic characters simply because they were of a different race. In turn, no quarter was given to any humanoid as a response. Yet, each World Champion talked to each other like they were longtime guildmates whenever they were in this meeting.

Now, of all times, these memories flooded her mind and her heart again. Although brief, Ai conversed normally with others, asked questions and theorycrafting, or just exploits on certain items or dungeons. She was quite happy to have others who enjoyed the game as much and quested in a similar manner as she did. Having eventually confined herself into a hermit life surrounded by NPCs, Ai was grateful for the little time she did have with the other World Champions. Each one had amazing stories to tell about their guilds, friends, or achievements they worked so hard for. Against each and every one of them, Toreii was no different. Everyone had a goal and what they wanted to do if they had more time to play the game. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, including their little cabal. Ai had no idea how each of them ended up after their final gathering… except for now.

A swelling anger burned at the bottom of Toreii's heart. The closest things to friends she ever had was the little gatherings among other World Champions. Ai never really cared much for other Players in Yggdrasil, but the kinship she formed among their small circle was more than enough for her. To have learned that another World Champion not only made it to the new world, but was killed for simply being another Player, caused Ai to feel anger and frustration. She wanted to put words to her feelings, but did not know how or what words to use. Ai never had to grieve for anyone, let alone another Player, but the World Champions were different. They stood above everyone in their respective worlds, they were meant to symbolize the best each world had to offer.

Learning the hydra not only fought a World Champion, but also killed him merely on the basis 'all Players were bad' was the tipping point for Ai. Every fiber of her being wanted Toreii to let loose the highest DPS spell the Deity was capable of, but that would not bring back her friend. In fact, the only thing that could would probably be a World-Class Item at this point. Ai did not know if any of the World-Class Items in the dev room actually worked or still had their effects, as she never tested a single one out of fear of what the devs would do. All of that caution was gone to the wind now, as Ai contemplated storming the secret room and plunging as much as her inventory could carry. A quiet subconscious voice told her these were emotional actions and every action has consequences.

"_When_ did your father fight against the Player with that armor? How long ago was it? Where was it? Is there a body left?"

"I'd sooner die than let any chance of your kind reviving! I know of the evil resurrections you Players can cast with your wicked magic!"

'_So there is resurrection in this new world? Are the mechanics still the same? Will I just lose levels? Or is she just saying that…? This is bait?'_

"That armor doesn't belong to you."

"And who are you to decide that?! You're just another Player invading to corrupt this world!"

'_This isn't getting anywhere… Will all the inhabitants be like this? Does everyone know about Players in this new world? Or just the ones who fight against Players? I wish I had a dialogue tree for this…'_

"I didn't choose to come here. My people didn't choose to come here. Whatever happened… Whatever forced us to come here is not our choice."

'_I can't say I regret getting to play Yggdrasil in real life though…'_

"You expect me to believe your lies? There's blood on your hands! Hundreds of dragons slain in your name! Was that too, not your choice?!"

'_Ugg… I'm getting more tsun than dere… What do I do…'_

The dragon girl locked her stare directly onto Toreii, with no end in sight. If looks could kill, Ai felt the tension of dozens of sharp daggers aimed at her with malicious intent. The uncooperative inhabitants were only half her worries. Half of her attention was devoted to tracking the Asgardian guarding the entrance. She was being very careful not to incur the wrath of her wife… Odin's wife? Frigga. Ai needed to be careful with Frigga. Without breaking eye contact with the detainees, Toreii sensed the calm and cautious aura Frigga was watching her with.

"Hold your breath."

"Wh-"

**\- Splash!**

Grabbing the chains binding the dragon girl, Toreii jumped head first into the small pond illuminating the room. Tugging and struggling against her bindings, the water reverberated with the dragon girl's screams. Ai needed to swim as fast as she could before the Asgardian could follow them. Although the opening to the pond was small, the actual body of water was larger than what the surface shown. The water was crystal clear, with no impurities to cloud their vision, yet there was no end in sight of how expansive the underground lake was. Of course, this was just a red herring to what the actual purpose of this lake was for. If one were to dive into the pond for the first time, the lake underneath would have not only seemed endless, but swimming in any direction except for downwards trapped the person in an endless loop of the same space. With so little data space left to work with, Ai had to get creative with her base design. The endless underwater lake was no bigger than a room fit for a normal Player character.

Even with the constant resistance from the dragon girl tugging against her back to the surface, Toreii had reached the bottom of the trick room. She counted exactly how far down to swim inside of her head, making sure not to pass the invisible marker hidden in the clear water. A shiny gold sigil sparked into existence on the back of her hand as she reached out to the light source. Instantly, as if gravity had inverted, up was down and down was up. The surface her captive was flailing in was now the faux bottom and where Toreii was swimming to was the true top.

Gentle splashing of water can be heard when Toreii finally broke through the surface. Shortly after she surfaced, a loud gulp of air can be heard being inhaled by the dragon girl. Only one of them was soaked, with her wet hair clinging tightly to her body. The duo had not come out to the tiny cave they were in before, but instead found themselves in a circular, stone water fountain, with a bust of a woman holding a vase expelling water.

Although Frigga had discovered the hidden cave Ai had planted inside of Odin's castle, the NPC lacked any further credentials which would allow her to follow them into the secret base. Since taking over Asgard and the Allfather's possessions, Ai had quietly and painstakingly moving her bank space and inventory into the base she created. With what little data space the devs did not use, Ai had built her own little safe haven within the most protected place in all of Asgard, but for a very selfish reason.

The blue luminescence which once filled the room was now replaced with emerald flames encased in metal housings supporting slender marble pedestals. Jagged rocks which once littered every wall was replaced by a smooth dome covering the entirety of the new area they were in. Dead center of the ceiling was a yellow sphere of heat and energy, an artificial sun which cost Ai a pretty penny on the exchange market back in Yggdrasil. Getting out of the fancy water fountain, Toreii's feet touched the finely chiseled limestone walkway. Each brick under her was precisely calculated by how much data each one would take up. In fact, there was only _one_ single building within Ai's hidden base, which was all she could afford to have, given her circumstances.

The Norse architecture which covered every home and building in Asgard was nowhere to be seen here. In a very stark contrast, Ai had modeled her base to fit the theme of her favorite World-Class Item. A lone Parthenon stood in the distance, a bit away from the secret entrance Ai had just used. Greek fire burned perpetually on the singular path to the exquisitely defined temple. Ai was very proud of how well the Parthenon had turned out, creating it to be an exact 1-to-1 scale of the actual building she researched very heavily on. All of this was of course to protect her most beloved treasure in all of her experiences throughout Yggdrasil, the [Olive Branch of Athena].

The World-Class Item she had to once part with was back in her care. After gaining the [Allfather] job levels, Ai made a beeline for the guild who bought the item from her. No words were ever exchanged between her and the guild members. Every day, she waited and stalked each member, carefully deducing who held possession of her greatest treasure. In hindsight, Ai's actions were very much psychotic, not unlike something a certain NPC would do. Back then, with the end of Yggdrasil nearing, the guild was down to a handful of members… and thanks to Toreii, disbanded shortly after she reclaimed her World-Class Item. She could have offered to buy back the sacred treasure, but Ai did not see any benefits for her in doing so.

"Wh-Where are we?! Ack! What did you do?!" The dragon girl screamed as she coughed up bits of water.

"Just my home away from home," answered Toreii earnestly, "I'm sorry things started the way they did. I did not int-"

"You didn't intend to massacre my people?! Your intentions don't mean anything when your actions clearly say otherwise!"

'_Can you dragons stop interrupting me when I talk?!'_

"My name is Toreii. Pleased to meet you too."

Despite the little meager verbal fight the dragon girl was putting up, she was still bound in chains, stuck in the little water fountain and soaking wet. She had brought the girl into her private base for 2 reasons. First was to get away from Frigga, and secondly, it was for her own safety from the Asgardian. Ai forced herself to not think about the endless ways Frigga was going to get information out of the poor captive girl. Although traveling in the same manner, Toreii was not the least bit wet from swimming through the infinity lake. Waiting patiently for the dragon girl to get what little composure the chains would allow her, Ai continued to ponder the whereabouts of the other Players. Had Yggdrasil just become real, Ai would have just left it at that, but instead it was a new world with Yggdrasil assets and their Players.

"What do you plan on doing to me? Torture me? I can do this all day!"

"Walk with me." Toreii gestured forward with a slight wave of her hand, making sure she was not tugging on the chain leash binding the girl. Receiving a sneer back as her only answer, Ai sighed internally. Toreii walked leisurely toward the monolith guarding the entrance to her vanity project.

Reluctantly following the tiny Deity, the dragon girl left a trail of damp spots on the white stones she stepped on. Apart from just protecting her beloved treasure, Ai had also made use of the free levels for NPCs which came with building a guild base. Although the actual base was little more than a tiny replica of an ancient city, it was still classified as fortress-sized. Due to this technicality, she was allowed upwards of 3000 levels for all her NPCs. What Ai did not realize was NPC levels also went toward the total data cap a dungeon was allowed. Having thought she hit the jackpot of all guild bases, Ai originally rushed her base building to get her NPCs as quickly as possible. After learning she was about to hit the maximum data limit, Ai broke down in a fit of rage and sadness… _mostly_ sadness. Not only did she have to start over in order to efficiently maximize the data she had left, but she had wasted several months' worth of salary for an extravagant base she was unable to build. Ai silently cried a waterfall of tears inside as these memories resurfaced again.

At the end of the day, after doing the math and using several data expansion packs, Ai was left with a measly 400 levels of the grand 3000 she was expecting. In her entire PVP career, nothing had hurt her more than watching her spreadsheets calculate the little amount of data she could actually use. Being one of the richest Players in all of Yggdrasil, she was capable of purchasing the most expensive inventory expansions. A Player got around the inventory limit by putting their personal items into either cases or satchels which had inventory slots themselves. The NPCs Ai wanted to create were ultimately just extra bank space for her stuff. Normally, Players created alternative accounts or alts to hold their extra inventory, but having to login into a PVP game was just asking for someone to camp around your alt and to take your stuff. However, another way was to stuff their extra inventory into their guild treasury, but doing so made it available to other guild members. Absolute trust amongst fellow guild members was needed for these types of situations, as Ai had read many horror stories about guild hoppers or infiltrators who would join guilds just to get information.

Lastly was what she had employed during her many testing trails to find the upper limits of the game. A guild member was able to give items to an NPC, and depending on the level of the NPC or how many cash items were used on them, their inventory could potentially be as large as a Player. Very few Players would use such a tactic since high-level NPCs were used to defend their bases during territorial guild wars. Due to NPCs being at the forefront of the action and most likely at the risk of dying in doing so, there was always a chance for the NPC to drop items from their inventory. Ai thought herself to be brilliant since she thought her own personally-created NPCs would not have to do battle, since her base was located within the most protected base in all of Yggdrasil. With only 400 levels to work with, instead of the stars being the limit, it was more akin to a second story apartment being the limit. Ai might have rushed in her initial plan to create her guild base, but was meticulous in the creation of her NPCs. Some Players considered their specially-crafted NPCs built from nothing to be like their own child, which Ai could sympathize with, considering the amount of hours she put into creating each of hers. The first of her NPCs was coming into view now as they got closer to the Parthenon.

* * *

Gratia Al-Shun observed as much as she could, considering how far behind enemy lines she was. No matter where she looked, nothing spoke to her of any obvious exit. With her hands and legs bound by the magical chains, all she could do was shuffle slowly behind what appeared to be her child captor. She understood very little about the situation, but played along to get as much out of her enemy as she could. However, as they approached the central building, her legs stopped in their tracks with her eyes locked onto the sole being stood atop the stairway into the stone temple. If the she-devil, 'Frigga', was a frightful beauty, then the angel awaiting them was what priests and holy men dreamt of seeing first in Heaven. With 3 sets of white, slender wings protruding from her back, the unknown girl smiled back at them as she patiently waited for their arrival. Gratia felt herself become infatuated with the innocent beauty, who looked as young and breathtaking as a flower just seconds after blooming. With her heart skipping a beat, Gratia's cheeks blushed for the first time since her childhood. Her eyes locked with the angel's, which were a calming light shade of sky blue. Golden locks of hair naturally rested against her slender body, reaching to waist level. Befitting of such a beautiful angel, she wore a decorative silver gown with short sleeves, with finely woven gems and crystals around her neck and at the bottom end of the dress. Bewitched by the unearthly beauty, Gratia stood bewildered, wondering how such a being could exist in the mortal realm without any God announcing their most precious envoy.

Being not only the Asgardian World Champion, as well as ranked in the top 5 PVP leaderboards, Ai knew efficient builds, including min/maxing. Not only was Toreii min/maxed for high magical DPS, but all of her custom made NPCs were also min/maxed for a single specific purpose. There were many things to consider when building an NPC, including race, job levels, racial levels, as well as equipment. Ai had farmed dungeon after dungeon for months on end in order to get specific data crystals to drop for all of her NPCs and to get extra crystals just in case she needed them for future projects. To some degree, her NPCs were just pack mules, as Ai had never once put them into active combat against Players to test her builds for them. However, that was the least of her worries at the moment. Not only was she the one who equipped them, but also the one to write each of their back stories. She had no idea how they would treat her, now that every NPC was given sentience. The Asgardians were somewhat like their mystical personas, but NPCs whom Ai had personally written? Now was the time to worry. It was like having her diary read back to her.

"So… beautiful…"

'_Ehh? Is she talking about the Parthenon? It's not too bad looking if I do say so myself! It's practically a perfect rep-'_

"Mother!"

'_Mother?'_

"Mother…? You're… her… mother? You're 10…"

'_Toreii is 12! I'm almost 30! Why did she call me 'Mother'?!'_

"It has been too long since your last visit! Might I ask who… this is?"

"She hasn't introduced herself yet. I'm sure she'll open up once she has had some time to reconsider," Toreii finally mustered out after Ai recovered from her initial shock. She had been childless for _too long_ to have all of a sudden become a mother **and** father.

"It would be my pleasure to assist you, Mother. Might I ask for your name?" The NPC answered as she walked the steps down to their level. Each step elicited a soft flutter from her wings, as her bare feet left quiet taps on the stone she walked on.

"My… name…? I'm… Gratia… Al-Shun…"

"Pleased to meet you, Gratia Al-Shun. I'm Viridi, eldest of the Noble Sisters," greeted the elf with a curtsy.

'_Right… Her sisters… My other NPCs… Will they call me 'Mom' too? This is a lot of children to suddenly gain custody of… At least I have the money to support all of them, I guess.'_

"Viridi… What a beautiful name…" Gratia muttered, eyes glimmering like she was starstruck.

"Thank you. Would you like to freshen up?" Viridi gently asked, subtly taking the silver chain from Toreii.

"Uhhh… I… What?"

Gratia was on cloud 9 and none of her dragon senses were able to detect a shadow quickly moving from the top steps of the temple. Viridi lead the girl away from Toreii and back into the temple, the Deity slowly turning her face to the youngest girl of the Noble Sisters, or more accurately, Ai's youngest _daughter_. Even with her [True Vision], Toreii could not make out anything more than a shadow moving quickly to her side, which spoke volumes to the equipment and skill she put into the NPC. Many of the top guilds who went on weekly territorial wars had enough resources to equip 1-2 Legendary-Class item for their NPCs, while also reserving Divine-Class items for themselves. This was not due to selfishness on the Player, but just the scarcity of the data crystals which went into building Divine-Class items. There was also the need to save rare material and data crystals for the creation of the Guild Weapon, which sometimes necessitates half of all the resources stored within their treasury. Overall, Divine-Class items were created in secret, sometimes even without the other guildmates knowing.

With Ai's anti-social tendencies and the university's supercomputer on hand, many days were spent on dungeon grinding for data crystals and searching for rare minerals. Of course, she could have used her own funds to buy what she needed, but the market often lagged behind just by discovering mineral veins yourself. However, being a solo player meant she had to go further than any other Players to find anything in relative safety. Ai did not mind, but at that point in time, she had thought she was grinding for 30 NPCs instead of 4. She was more than a bit peeved at the realization, but only had herself to wallow her misery in. Thus, all the extra mineral and data crystals went into crafting Divine-Class gear for the 4 NPCs, with whatever was leftover stuffed into their inventory slots until Ai got around to a new project.

"I miss having you around, Mom."

'_First I'm the dad of 3 sons and now I'm the mom of 4 daughters. What else is coming my way?!'_

"It has been a while, Nanami. I'm sorry I didn't visit more," Toreii said.

Ai was face-to… -chin with a young girl no older than 16, but was still a head taller than her character. She had long, dark green hair with small splashes of pink flowers all over, adorned with a decorative Shinigami mask. Dark purple robes in the style of an eastern monk covered her entire body, down to the sandals she wore. Amethyst eyes stared at Toreii like she was going to disappear at any moment. Nanami was not an elfling or any heteromorphic race, but rather was the only human among the sisters. Although there were advantages to having a different race for one's NPCs, it was not ideal for what Ai had intended for this one.

"Hmm… Forgiven. Please don't leave for so long again," Nanami said softly, pulling the small Deity towards her for a warm embrace.

Not used to human contact, Ai mentally froze, but nonetheless Toreii returned her daughter's affection. "Things are… a bit different now. My time here will have to be brief, but there is much for me to do."

"Okay… but Viridi told me about the terrible things that girl said about you."

'_Huh? What? She saw what?'_

"What do you mean by terrible things? What did your sister tell you?"

"She insulted you, calling you terrible names like 'warmonger'. We all saw through the fountain. If we could, all of us would have silenced her immediately right then and there, but I guess bringing her here was your intention all along. Thank you, Mom."

'_Give me a break… Not this again… First Frigga… Ugg…'_

"W-Where is Viridi taking the girl?" Toreii asked, panicked.

"Well, we originally planned on executing her on the spot, but since you said she needed time, I don't know where Viridi is going with her now. Did you want to do the execution yourself, Mom?" Nanami asked, as Toreii slightly pulled away from their hug.

'_I don't ever remember putting murderous intent in __**any**_ _of your backstories! Why is this issue coming up now?! All Gratia did was call me names! __**NAMES**__! You don't get a __**death sentence**_ _for calling someone names!'_

Pinching the bridge of her nose out of habit, a headache assaulted her mind again. "Just… Take me to your sister. I need to have a talk with all of you…"

Nanami broke their hug, shying away with a worried look in her eyes, "A-Are we in trouble?"

"No…" Toreii sighed, "Just… Take me to your sister."

Toreii and Nanami walked through the marble doorway, which was just an open space. Emerald green flames burned on torches mounted on steel pikes, causing eerie shadows to be cast along their pathway. The youngest daughter was hesitant with her steps, even to the point of slowing down their pace, but with Toreii's eyes on her constantly, Nanami could only march forward. With the body of an adolescent, Ai noticed the ceiling was not only higher, but everything was terribly large in comparison to her. Had her character not have any flying capabilities, she might have had to carry around a step ladder for any interaction with her base. Despite noticing her NPC was clearly delaying for time, Toreii's short feet and stature made Nanami's slow pace practically a brisk speed walking for Ai.

"What have you and your sisters been doing since the last time I came down here?" Toreii asked softly.

Although Nanami stopped to answer the question, a single look from her mother sent her back on the slow march she had earlier. "I've been patrolling the outer perimeter of the Parthenon like you've told me to. Other than that, I haven't done much else. Viridi tells me stories about what she sees in the fountain."

'_Was that the last command I gave her? I kind of feel bad now… It's not like anyone ever comes down here, but at least she is diligent. Although… How would the Asgardians react to these NPCs? Would they be allies since the base is still within Asgard? I'd hate to see what happens if they met on bad terms…'_

"How do you feel about people outside of our family?"

"If that dragon girl is anything to go off, then I don't see any worth in beings outside our family."

'_Okay… Not a great impression by anyone on either side… But we don't have to be killing each other because of it!'_

"Or at least that's what Viridi said about how she felt."

'_THANK GOODNESS! Err… I mean… At least you're a good daughter.'_

"And your personal feelings?" Toreii asked once again.

"I don't really much care for outside beings. I wouldn't mind not ever seeing one again."

'_That sounds like something I would say… Still, I guess a neutral opinion is better than a bad one. I can work with that. Maybe Nanami would be the best one of all the NPCs to get me information about this new world. I don't see much subtlety in her sisters if I asked for a reconnaissance mission from them.'_

The vast open space of the Parthenon was filled with stone carvings of famous Greek Gods or their tragic fate. Most notable and the centerpiece of the room was her statue of Athena. The bust of the goddess included the intricate design of her armor, with one arm holding an aegis and the other holding the head of a gorgon. At the foot of the stone goddess was a lone pedestal, with a single item floating like it was unbound by gravity. Her fondest treasure, the [Olive Branch of Athena] was on an open display for her to enjoy. Normally a guild would fight tooth and nail, even down to their last member, before revealing any information about their stash, but Ai saw no point in that, with all of Asgard being her first line of defense. A small wave of nostalgia hit her heart as they passed the final statue and into the path behind it. The spacious walls eventually narrowed down, with the duo coming up to a set of engraved double doors, the stone beautifully carved to depict Prometheus giving the gift of fire to mankind.

Nanami, despite her small frame and body, gently pushed open the doors like they weighed nothing. Having made up her mind about which side she wanted to be on, Ai noticed there was no longer any hesitation from Nanami's actions. Past the doors were several stairways which lead down to different paths of the underground part of the Parthenon. Without delay, the NPC pointed to a single staircase as if she was too scared to go forward. Having promised she nor her sister were in trouble, Ai made no attempt to convince the NPC to accompany her. Marching on, Toreii swiftly walked down the spiral stairway, which opened up to a steamy room with water slowly pouring from copper pipes.

"Mother? I was not expecting you to come down here." Viridi asked through the misty steam. Just like her creator, the elf had [True Vision]. Gratia was right beside her, still starstruck, but was out of the steel shackles binding her earlier and into robes fitting a refugee.

"I just wanted to make sure everyone was safe."

"Is something going? Has Nanami said something?"

'_Only that you planned on killing every outsider!'_

"Nothing at all. Nanami was just worried about you so I made sure to check up on your progress. I wanted to talk with you about a couple of things later on."

"Of course, Mother," Viridi cheerily said with a slight bow, "Should we head back up now? I was just making sure that-" the elf stopped mid-sentence and looked like she was staring off into the distance. "Someone has broken through. Nanami is making first contact now."

'_WHAT?! Broke through?! Like broke through Asgard or through to the Parthenon?'_

Her [Ring of Æsir] activated immediately and Toreii was gone in a blur of light, leaving the other two behind. Toreii's vision shifted from the steamy room to the clearing right outside her Parthenon. The stone path leading back to the fountain was barren, save for two beings standing tall, with one pointing a double tipped, red sword at the other.

"What have you done to my husband?!" Frigga shouted, dripping wet from forcing her way through the pond on the other side.

Right behind her, Ai saw the massive hole in the ground where the fountain used to be. As if the ground itself was split in half, the stone was cleaved and partially melted with patches of small fires still burning around the gaping hole. The infinitely looping lake was more of a mental challenge than a physical locking system. Just like a house of mirrors, any attempt to break through them from the inside ruined the illusion altogether. Repairs to the damages could probably still be made with Yggdrasil gold, but that was the least of her worries at the moment.

'_WHY DID YOU FOLLOW ME?! You didn't have to break down my door! I wasn't even gone for that long!'_

Even though the Asgardian had higher overall stats than her own NPCs, Frigga's decision to point a sword toward Nanami would ultimately be her downfall. Under any other circumstances, or had she just gone bare fisted, the Queen of Asgard would have won handily. With how popular swords were in Yggdrasil, Ai had created Nanami as an anti-swordsman, tailored to have a bigger advantage the higher the sword quality.

In a blink of light, Toreii teleported herself in between the two NPCs. Ai hated to deal with confrontation head on, but since it was with NPCs, she lied to herself it was not like dealing with actual people. Nanami was to her back, but Ai could tell with her heightened senses the defender was tense from the sudden breakthrough.

"My love! I was worried when you were no longer by my side! I thought that wicked prisoner had tried to drown you in spite," Frigga said in a sweet tone, before closing the gap between them and hugging the tiny Deity.

Not wanting Nanami to react negatively, Toreii quietly gestured her to stand down. The height difference between Frigga and the prepubescent Deity was outright laughable. The top of Toreii's head barely reached Frigga's midriff. Even all of her NPCs were taller than Ai now, which made her a bit regretful she made her character at the lowest possible height. Although Ai was sure she signaled her NPC to not engage, Nanami was still frigid, like she expected an attack to come sooner or later.

"I'm fine, Frigga. You didn't have to force your way through… I would have returned shortly."

"I was merely worried about your wellbeing, my love! When I no longer saw you, I had to make sure you were safe. Although…" the Asgardian trailed off mid-speech as she turned her head to get a full view of the new world she was in. "I never knew such a place existed before… To think all of this was hidden away… right underneath Asgard."

"You broke our water fountain," Nanami coldly stated with a piercing glare.

The towering Asgardian loomed over the young NPC and could only give a disappointed look upon her, "Child, I'm sure you don't know _who_ I am to be speaking to me in such a tone."

'_Oh no… Not like this!'_

Nanami sharply pointed to Toreii, whom Frigga was still embracing tightly, "I'm _her_ child! Who are _you_?"

'_I guess I'm finding out __**now**_ _what I look like to Asgardians!'_

"I'm Frigga! **QUEEN OF ASGARD**! AND _this_," Frigga declared proudly with her chest out. She held out Toreii like it was show–and-tell day and she was presenting her most prized item. "IS _MY_ **HUSBAND**!"

Nanami made the exact face Ai expected any reasonable personal to make. Her daughter looked at Frigga like she was some crazy middle-aged women who broke into their home and had forced themselves onto Toreii before declaring their marriage. Or, worse, was the incoming disappointment and looks of betrayal to a parent who had hidden their other lives from their closest relatives – a mother hiding her affair from her daughter, and a husband hiding a child from a former relationship from his lover.

To be fair, Ai was probably just as crazy for accepting this fact or anything else Frigga had done up to this point. The chilling stares both NPCs gave one another was enough for Ai to feel like she was on death's door. This was _not_ how she wanted to start her day off. First, she failed to get useful information from the natives, and now she has to deal with the fallout between her wife and daughter. Still, if she were to gain anything from this, she had to act fast.

"Frigga!" Toreii shouted as to get their attention away from each other, "How tall am I?" For a moment the agitation in the air lifted, like the noose around her neck untwining. Ai was glad her character did not have the need to breathe, or else she would have gone red in the face by now with how long the anticipation made her hold her breath.

"4-and-a-half foot tall?" Frigga answered, eyebrow raised like Ai was the crazy one for asking the question. "Are you upset you've lost some height this past year?"

'_So they do see me as Toreii! Well… That doesn't help much… Are they just fine with me looking like a 12 year-old girl?'_

Nanami let out a quiet sigh like she was already tired of dealing with Asgardians. Her pose shifted from defensive to just merely on guard as she tucked her hands into the long sleeves of her monk robes. Ai did not blame her in the slightest for the reaction. Every second with the Asgardians for her had been one headache after another.

"It's fine, I was just asking to confirm something. I'm sorry I didn't introduce you two earlier. This is… my daughter, Nanami," Toreii said as she beckoned towards the lone girl.

Without hesitation, Frigga asked grumpily, "Which mistress is she from? Do I know her? Would you like me to raise this one too? What an unruly child; to fail to perceive and inherit even the slightest amount of your grace, radiance and majesty, my love. Surely, this must've been that mistress's fault."

To that, Nanami's eyelids twitched. "This wretch is supposed to be my and my sister's mother? How unworthy… Mother, I think there are better choices out there. Certainly a humbler, more intelligent one." Disregarding her mother's silent panicked attempt at shutting her down, the Japanese-themed NPC continued, "I'm sure she brings 'baggage' with her too, right? How can they compare to us siblings, born from your own sweat, tears, flesh, and blood? Hmph!"

Ai decided in that moment there would be '_stay in bed'_ days from now on, and today was one of them.

* * *

**A/N:** I'll try to get these chapters out earlier. I've realized how slow of a pace this story has been going and wanted to know if you guys are fine with this or should I have time skips for more important events. As always feedback would be great on how the story is developing.


	8. Chapter 8 - Legacy

~~~ 1 Month Later

Mental fatigue was starting to wear down Ai's functionality skills – not that she had many to begin with. She was getting her much-needed Odin Sleep every night in order to reset her cooldowns, but that did not mean that it was a truly restful sleep. There were things to do in Asgard which weighed heavily on her mind every night she closed her eyes. The meeting with the noble families of Asgard drew nearer and nearer, and Ai's anxiety grabbed hold of her psyche more and more. A cycle of hatred started with Ai hating her inability to deal with anything social, which spiraled more into hating herself for being herself. She could not entertain the thought of loathing anyone but herself, since these were mostly problems which stemmed from her.

A small part of her still did so for letting her daughters meet the Asgardians the way they did. Perhaps if she were more truthful or open with Frigga, things could have turned out differently – but alas, of all the NPCs to meet, she was glad it was with the most trusting or understanding. Nanami, just like her mother, hated dealing with other people if she did not absolutely have to. Viridi, who was a bit more assertive, openly accepted Frigga. A superficial relationship would do more harm in the long run than the younger girl openly stating her discontent against the queen. Ai was scared of the intelligence of her NPCs, especially now that they all have their own wants and desires. It was not that she distrusted her own creation, but Ai was sure if Viridi wanted to, her scheming could match even Loki in terms of effectiveness.

She so far had followed Ai's instructions, not that she expected her NPCs to disobey her. Out of all her creations, the ancient elf was the strongest among all her sisters. Although most Players invested some levels into their race and then the rest into job levels, Ai invested all of Viridi's levels into her racial levels. With no job levels, she had no access to higher-tier DPS spells which every Player and her sisters had, with the rest of the siblings having offensive capabilities in some shape or form, be it a tiered spell or a skill associated with their job. Viridi, for all intents and purposes was meant to be the unmovable object her younger siblings could stand behind. Without her [Allfather] levels, Toreii would never win a drawn out fight with Viridi.

If Nanami was designed to be an anti-swordsman, then the eldest Noble Sister was an anti-mage. With specialized gear or simply high enough resistances, a Player was able to negate damage of spells up to a certain tier. Most PvP Players had Tier 6 and below spell damage negation from leveling up their characters to Level 100. Ai had min/maxed this concept with Viridi, fine-tuning her racial levels exclusively into magic resistance, enabling her to negate all damage from spells Tier 10 and below. Anything shy of a Super-Tier spell was nothing but an inconvenience to this super tank of an elf. Although she could take a Tier-10 to the face and be absolutely fine, any physical weapon above Level 50 could mortally wound her in turn. In hindsight, a tank who could only sit at the back until all their threats were dealt with was a terrible one.

If Viridi entered the front lines under very specific conditions, though, her racial levels gave her highly useful utilitarian skills. By leveling them exclusively, one of the secret skills an ancient elf was able to achieve was [Primus Inter Pares]. With Yggdrasil containing nearly a dozen types of elven races to make a character from, Viridi's skill allowed her to access the skill tree of any of the elven races, one at a time, before the ability went on cooldown.

The reason why Viridi had gotten through Gratia's mental guard so quickly was due to the charming passive which high elves possessed, as Ai has learned to understand. Although she was suspicious that murderous intent was still abound, Viridi was slowly making headway towards getting all the information the dragon was useful for. At least for the moment, Ai guessed there was still a low possibility of her NPCs killing this world's inhabitants. The mess for when that bridge would start – and in some ways _had_ started – burning would be a headache for future Ai. Thus far, every NPC's or New World natives' interaction with Ai had not gone the least bit well.

If there was a silver lining, it would be Frigga. Although the first meeting between the Asgardian and her NPCs did not start off well, at least the confrontation was with the most understanding of her daughters. Nanami was quite resentful of Frigga after learning Toreii had gained a partner, and did not inform any of the Noble Sisters. From her reaction, Ai guessed it was equivalent to not liking your parent's new fling – or to be even more blunt, Frigga was like a new evil stepmother whom Nanami never asked for. She had kept this to herself, but Ai could clearly see the judgmental looks the girl gave Frigga. There was not much she could do about it for now, but Ai decided it was better for her only stealth-specialized NPC to move up into the castle. Limited to the confines of Ai's shared bedchambers, Nanami spoke very little to Toreii and nothing to Frigga.

Integration of her NPCs with the Asgardians was not going well. Frigga was as lovey-dovey as ever, even in front of Toreii's daughters, which hampered any plans Ai had for them to get along.

With so much to do, she put their relationship building on the back burner. So far, the only Asgardian to know of the existence of Nanami was Frigga, but if Heimdall knew anything, he did not say it. Every day for her was more civil unrest, as rumors spread among her citizens that Asgard was in great peril. How these rumors started, she did not know, but her RPG and management games experience told her it was only a matter of time before talk turned to violence.

If she knew how important it was to ease the minds of her people, it would have been a top priority. Instead, Frigga had hidden most of it away from Ai. For all she knew, the only big mishap was she had to attend a meeting with a large group of people. Every word spoken, every move made by the matriarchs of the noble families were heavily censored or intercepted by the Queen of Asgard. Nothing would reach the ears of her beloved, if she could help it.

No information going to Ai meant she only had to deal with her people skills and social nervousness, instead of ruling over an entire kingdom of people. Had she read into the full backstory of Frigga, instead of skimming it for bits here and there about why her wife was such a stalker, she would have also learned Asgard was politically ruled by the head female. Males were officially the higher-ranking citizens in Asgard, but promotions and connections were built on female relations. This was also true all the way up the crown.

Nanami had learned of this secret form of government a week after watching the daily life of her new step-mother, and she too decided to not disclose the terrible weight Frigga had to bear. With nothing to do inside of the bedchamber, all Nanami could do was watch, listen, and learn.

Ai, on the other hand, was doing mental exercises. Once again in solitude, Ai had locked herself away, practicing how she would sit or preparing lines for questions when asked. If she was going to claim the title of King, then she had to act the part. The only other beings with her were the black ravens whom she personally commanded. After she had teleported away with the hydra, both the ravens were unable to follow her, even though they were about to recount what Frigga did after Toreii and the hydra went sunbathing.

With the secret armor Ai had forged, the Queen of Asgard had a field day with the horde. It was a bit regretful she was unable to gather the materials from the dragons whom Frigga slain, but Ai was limited on inventory space at the moment. Half of her efforts were spent preparing for the upcoming meeting, while the other half was allocated into relearning how her character worked. Magic still worked the same, as with all of her skills, items, and Tiered Magic had also transferred over. However, there were slight deviations in some of their effects: Spells or abilities which were Yggdrasil-specific were either not effective at all or did not behave in the way Ai remembered them.

Stuck on a never-ending schedule, Ai felt like she was becoming a plant, absorbing nutrients through the air. The last physical meal she had enjoyed was a cup of instant ramen from her real world. Ai imagined herself salivating over a warm cooked meal, as she forced Toreii to commit to memory the proper prose of a king. Food might have been an optional thing for the Deity, but the Odin Sleep was not. She had to make sure her cooldowns were reset by the next time a fight broke out; otherwise, sleeping was just to ease Ai's human mind. Practicing how to act kingly was one thing, but Ai was skeptical whether she was doing it right. Her only experience with kingly things were from books and games. Almost everything she practiced had some sort of dramatic flair to it, like making a scene out of moving her arm or slamming [Gungnir] into the ground. Sometimes, she would make Toreii look extra serious with gazing in a certain way, or change the tone of her voice.

It was more work than she wanted to put in, but it was no longer simple NPCs she had to be in front of. Actual sentient beings were going to be looking at her and how she acted. A building pressure inside of her head boomed rhythmically, as Ai was reminded of her last thesis defense. Meeting the nobles felt like she was meeting the board of education instead, feeling herself faking a persona in order to appease a crowd she had no affiliation or affection with.

Ai sighed internally, and Toreii followed suit physically. Her mental toll was starting to affect the performance of her character, as if the weight of the world decided to rest itself on her back. Toreii might have had the strength to carry that burden indefinitely, but Ai's sanity would have never been able to handle something of that capacity. And as if she was suddenly playing on a server on the other side of the world, Toreii's movements became sluggish like she was being worn down little by little.

This was not part of the game she used to cherish every moment playing. It was… _work_!

Ai was completely fine with doing her share of work during the week, but having that mix into her gaming time made her angsty. Now that her work and gaming life were one and the same, she was losing all the enjoyment Yggdrasil once brought her. She was not really one for role playing, but practicing to put on a performance for a higher society was probably on the bottom of the list of things she wanted to do with her character.

There hadn't been a single solid sustenance in her stomach, yet phantom pain was mounting up there as the days go by. At some point, a rusty knife trying to penetrate her skin would have caused her less anguish. Even white lies she came up with in her mind, like 'it was just dealing with interactive NPCs' was barely enough to keep her nerves in check. One of the reasons she never progressed to a professorship herself was the fear of standing in front of a crowd who needed _her_ to lead. If it were just students, she might have one day overcome her anxiety, but the entire noble population? Her tongue tasted bile, as her mind continued these 'what-if' situations.

From dawn to dusk, she locked herself inside Odin's private chamber. As Toreii's movements and speech became ingrained more and more into her muscle memory, Ai had Solomon on the side reading off self-help books about social anxiety. She felt like an undergraduate again, cramming the night before the big final semester test. At some point, Ai had considered cutting her losses and just went to the meeting drunk – and said 'liquid courage' became more appealing as the deadline came closer. However, with Toreii being an adolescent, Ai had her misgivings about downing any amount of alcohol now.

Another sigh escaped her. The powers of the all-powerful, all-knowing Allfather was at her fingertips, yet here she was, practicing lines and her choreography like it was a stage play.

'_This is unbearable! What am I doing with my life? This isn't what I wanted…'_

With one deep breath after another, Ai tried to regain some semblance of composure. Consequences be damned, she was going to do something she wanted for once! The scenery of black, etched obsidian faded away, as gale force winds wooshed against her face and ears. With [Gungnir] at her side, Toreii was flying just underneath the floating fortress. By teleporting beneath the city, Ai hoped to raise the least amount of suspicion. Asgard was high above the cloud line, away from the mortals' eyes below. The chilly air felt refreshing against her rosy cheeks, as Toreii rubbed the tiredness from her eyes.

It was just past midday, with Asgard directly blocking the sunlight above. The snowy mountains which broke through the cloud line before were no longer here. Ai surmised Heimdall must have flown the entire city to a new location. Below her, between peaks, through the soft, white clouds were grassy plains and luscious, green forest.

'_I'm just stepping out for a bit! They won't miss me at all,'_ Ai thought to herself. There were no excuses she wanted to make this time. It was purely for selfish reasons she left without telling anyone.

As best as she could, Toreii scanned the scenery for any signs of civilization. Although the holy spear could not talk, Ai could feel its excitement from being set free of Asgard's confines. The Deity's tiny body shook from the chilling shiver running down her spine. It was exciting to see the New World once again — it's practically a new expansion in Ai's mind, which she now called 'Yggdrasil 2'. Disregarding the uncreative naming sense, it was an adventure into a new unknown awaiting her.

When her eyes finally caught onto a lightly-used path into the forest, Toreii relinquished some mana to her to ring. "[Silent Magic - Perfect Unknownable]," Toreii casted inside her mind.

Nothing changed about her appearance besides a tiny shift in the atmosphere around the Deity, bar a near-imperceptible a tiny bubble separating herself from the world around her. Firmly grasping [Gungnir] in her hand, the World-Class Item only served to embolden her confidence. Instead of flying straight down, Toreii let the winds carry her through the sky, as to avoid creating a noticeable trail. Descending slowly but surely, the sun's warmth hit her softly, with Asgard no longer looming over her head.

The magnificent floating city grew smaller in view, eventually fading to a tiny speck in the sky. Although briefly, Ai wanted to see what else the New World had to offer. There was some concern she might meet another Nyx Al-Shun, but Ai tossed that thought as a single bad apple in a field of orchids. The smell of rustic earth was the first thing Toreii noticed, as she softly landed by the forest entrance. Her ears picked up the sounds of birds chirping in between pauses of each other or the quiet buzzing of bugs.

Everything before her was alive with life, which was something exclusive to a virtual game not too long ago.

One foot after another, Toreii took her first steps into the adventure awaiting her. The trail she followed was clearly made by some form of biped being, which meant it would surely lead her to some kind of civilization. Without much care to her pace, Toreii steadily made her way into the forest with her eyes glued to her surroundings. Like a tourist wandering through a new city for the first time, she was careful not to stray too far from the beaten path. Toreii should have been more cautious to what she was touching, but having only seen trees in books and paintings, plant life practically mystified her. As if she were in a fairytale, the young Deity walked further into the forest without a care in the world, enjoying what her home world never offered her.

Even if she did not find anything today, being in the forest and seeing all it offered was enough to fill Toreii's heart. The warm breeze against her face felt nice, as the trees quietly had their leaves rustling from animal activity. The fauna she was able to glimpse at were similar to the ones Yggdrasil had, which had her thinking about how much of the game was imported to this world. Perhaps the entire world of Yggdrasil was transported, but only pieces at a time? Maybe the new world had a bandwidth limit, or that bases were transported first – those were some of the theories she came up with, but they became afterthoughts as Toreii finally found an end to the tree line.

Adjusting her eyes to the bright sun overhead, a quiet chatter pricked her ears into attention. A human caravan was just off in the distance, with burly men moving crates and a foreman shouting orders, pointing in every direction. Those who stood guard on the edge of their base of operation had leather armor with wooden spears, and a wooden fence just a little behind them. The campsite seemed temporary, but it looked like the humans had operated in the area for quite some time, since their trails were a lot deeper than the one she had traveled on.

What perplexed Toreii the most was their speech was coherent to her. She knew for a fact the odds of her native language would also be transported and used was minimal. Therefore, since the guard on their watchtower failed to spot her, Toreii assumed no one in their camp was able to detect or see through such a high tier spell. Just to be sure, she waved her arms above her head, flailing them as dramatically as possible. Still, no one noticed her, prompting her to move closer to the settlement.

Her doubt was replaced by curiosity when she was close enough to watch and hear them speak to each other. Flying over the guarded gate, Toreii was in the heart of the caravan now. Confirming she really was understanding them, confusion hit her when their lips did not match the syllables they spoke with. It was almost comical, like a bad lip sync on a rushed game release, but was never patched. At this point, she wondered if it was some kind of magic which automatically translated language. There was no such thing back in Yggdrasil, but it could have been devised for use in this world.

"Have the slaves been loaded up yet?! We have to get them out by tonight! I'm not paying you bushwhackers to pick flowers and frolic! Get moving! NOW!" A bearded man shouted from atop some crates. His hair was oily and unkempt, with several laceration scars on his face and neck. Black beady eyes devoid of compassion scanned over the working people, as his muscular arms pointed to different groups of men moving equipment.

"Slaves…? They have slaves in this world?" Toreii said aloud, tilting her head in confusion. She had read about it and seen some roleplaying in Yggdrasil, but never thought it would transgress to this new world as well. Looking around, she walked away from the shouting and explored their campsite. Tents were propped up everywhere, with some having guards outside, while others were big enough to walk through freely. Hearing the sound of horses nearby, Toreii followed the direction of their neighing.

Reaching what seemed like a loading area, large steel cages meant for something like a bear or tiger were seen everywhere. One of the cages actually held a sleeping bear, while the others had the slaves she heard about earlier. Almost a dozen elves were stuffed into each cage, clearly organized to maximize profit per unit of area. Their ages ranged from the same as Toreii's to as old as middle age, but the majority of them were females. Some were sleeping or were just lifeless, others were trying to bend the metal bars of their prison, and the rest had just accepted their fate, quietly crying in the fetal position.

An uneasiness swept her legs as Toreii froze in place. Small pins pricked the insides of her stomach when she saw how the humans had marked the elves. Long pointy ears she was familiar with were instead cut in half, leaving a fresh bloody stump. Toreii would have been fine with blood and gore, or just frightening creatures who tore you apart limb from limb.

These things were a part of Yggdrasil — this was not. Subjugation of other races and inhumane treatment of them was not part of the game she cherished so much. There might have been a racial thing in character creation and the 9 worlds, but that was for roleplayers.

Toreii's cute face scrunched up into a frown, with mixed feelings of sadness and disappointment swirling inside her. Everything the World Champions fought for and against was being rubbed with dirt right before her. Their sense of unity and compassion for everyone, regardless of background or race, was nothing more than an ideology in this new world. Her memories of them were all she had left. Toreii was not the first of the World Champions to come here, but if she were the last, then carrying on their ideology was the only honor she could give to the closest thing she considered her friends.

Steeling her resolve, she calmed herself with a deep breath of fresh air. Getting the out-of-body jitters, she noticed her right hand had gone numb, as color and blood had drained away from it, leaving a pale white visage as she unfurled each finger. She had unknowingly held [Gungnir] in a death grip, her nails leaving visible red marks in her skin. Toreii was agitated from the inside out, but for once, it was for someone else.

The image of a shining platinum knight resurfaced in her mind. His visage was always proud and strong about his beliefs, and his sense of justice was something every World Champion admired. The first time Toreii met him, she did not understand his forwardness or why he did not stride to become even stronger.

Now, all she can remember was his resolve to defend his friends and the last words he spoke to her, '_Those who do not save the weak cannot call themselves strong.'_

Toreii decided to prove her title as the Asgardian World Champion.

* * *

The effects of her spell had weaned by now, as Toreii re-exited the forest for a second time. Guards on the watchtower were the first to spot her, causing a commotion among the caravan. With [Gungnir] in hand, she walked confidently toward the human settlement, chanting to herself, '_Act like you belong!'_ Strutting like the God she was, Toreii imagined the silhouette of her former companions right behind her. She had nothing from them except for their lessons and example, but that was enough for now.

"Nine's Own Goal…" Toreii whispered under her breath. She did not remember where she heard the name from, but it reminded her of the secret club she was a part of. It would have been a good name if the 9 World Champions were ever assembled, but that was just wishful thinking now.

"HALT!" One of the guards shouted, pointing his spear in her direction.

Toreii was not even halfway to their camp before they had stopped her. In hindsight, a child walking out of the forest with a golden spear was more than just a little bit suspicious. Her first impression of these people was that they were poachers, who also happen to be slavers. She did not know if it was possible to reason with them, but with a purse as deep as hers, these types of people were likely to welcome her sooner than later.

More shouting could be heard behind their wooden fence, as her sudden appearance caused these men to mobilize. Opening inward, the reinforced gate slowly creaked to life, letting out two men on horseback. By the time the gate had closed again, the horses had closed the gap between her and the base.

"Who are you? What is your business here?" The same man she saw earlier shouted, this time with a scimitar pointed at her. Just behind him was another equally brawny man, fully bearded, but with metal armor instead of leather.

"I'm here to buy some stuff!" Toreii shouted, feigning confidence, but the smile she cracked was more akin to a crazy maniacs instead of a sincere one.

Normally, the stutters would start now – after all, the smooth, commanding tone she usually used for her NPCs… was exactly that: only for the NPCs who're near enough to a family to her.

Right now, it's pure, unadulterated anger pushing her façade, enabling her to look at the 'welcoming party' straight in the face, pushing the stutters out of the way.

"Are you a spy? Or a scout? Or just bait? Do your people really think sending a child into enemy hands is a good distraction? We just got a free hostage!" The foreman shouted at her. He easily got off his horse, making sure to keep his curved sword pointed at her body as he looked at the forest behind her.

However, his line of sight suddenly dropped following the sack the girl just threw casually to the ground. "A buyer, obviously. Is this how you treat your clients?" The knot on the sack conveniently loosened at that time, letting various precious gems spill to the ground, shocking the two men. "If so, then I simply need to take my patronage elsewhere…"

The dangerous trader stopped in his tracks as his eyes gleamed with delight at the sudden appearance of the shiny jewels. With decades of experience behind him, the brilliance of the variety of gems were beyond anything he had seen before in his hard life. Even when he was a novice thief whose ambitions were bigger than his capabilities, the jewelries of the royal family had always captivated him, but even those gems paled in comparison to the lustrous shine he was witness to now.

Bending down to pick one up, he threw another to the man behind him. His eyes did not deceive him – the sparkle in each crystal gem was like night and day. He tore his view away briefly, eyeing the mysterious child who just appeared. "What are you? A dragon in disguise? The child of a dragon? No ordinary man would ever come here with jewels this precious and drop them carelessly."

'_Think of something! Quick!'_

"I am no 'child'," she growled. "For I am 10 millennia old!" She blabbed in the heat of the moment.

'_Smooth! Real smooth! Pit-of-deadly-spikes smooth! Thanks, me!'_

"You're 10,000 years old?" The man repeated with a low voice, eyebrow raised in doubt, "A 10,000-years-old girl who looks 10 in age, in the middle of the forest with a bag of jewels… and she is looking to buy some wares from us?" Clearly, Toreii's answer wasn't easily accepted. "How dumb do you think I am?!" The man snapped at her.

However, come to think of it, if this person really was a child, he expected her to run away as soon as she pointed his blade at her. After seeing jewels with a quality surpassing anything men were capable of finding in their entire lifetimes, hearing the little girl say she was 10,000 years old was not that far-fetched. He retracted his sword back into his leather sheath at his waist, as he gathered the rest of the spilled gems and swept them back into the pouch.

"Consider _this,_" he said, shaking the small bag, "an entrance fee. I'm a reasonable business man. If you got the coins, neither of us will ask any questions." He tossed the bag to his partner who was still examining the jewel from earlier.

But both men's eyes widened once again in shock, as the flying bag, as well as the gems the bearded man was examining, flew the other way around and returned to their original owner's sleeves. "It will double as tips, if you serve me well," Toreii coldly eyed them, even though her heart couldn't beat any faster due to the nervousness and gall of the act she's pulling right now.

He still had his guard up on the unknown girl, but a payday like this was practically a retirement fund for him. If he lived by the end of today, tomorrow he would be richer than the kingdom he ran away from.

Getting back on his horse, he beckoned Toreii to follow them back. Using the reins on his horse to get closer to his partner, he quietly whispered to his partner, "Your thoughts?"

"This may or may not get everyone killed, Iago, including me. What if she's a dragon?" The older soldier asked, his grey beard emphasizing a slight frown.

"A dragon would sooner kill us all and take what it wanted, than give away jewels these precious," Iago retorted, trying to make himself believe the excuse as well. "You and I could open up our own tavern after this! Think about it, Stein! No more hiding in the forest anymore, no more monsters coming to munch on you at night, no more sharing the same tent with half a dozen other men. We can have women swoon over us for the rest of our lives! Maybe even a different woman every day!"

"Iago…" Stein sighed, "We didn't make this far by blindly accepting a big payday. What about our patron? What will he do once he finds out about this?" He questioned.

"We _simply_ don't tell him," Iago sneered.

Just behind them, Toreii, with her superhuman hearing picked on their conversation. She was glad human greed was as prevalent in the new world as it was back in Yggdrasil. If it were her being offered a large sum of money, she also would have taken it as well… once upon a time – in fact, she did take a huge sum of money for an item. However, with years came wisdom. She was only as rich as she was because she lucked out on finding her fortune.

These men would not be as fortunate as her.

* * *

Millions of eyes were locked onto her as soon as she entered their camp, causing Toreii to feel her heart's palpitations skyrocket. Dealing with one or two people… and she was okay for the most part, but a campsite full of men, looking at her in various devious ways? She tried to shut off her brain and keep herself on autopilot as best she could.

The _other _reason was if she let her own uneasiness – well, more like outright crowd panic, really – run wild… there's no telling the carnage she'd instinctually release. Stage fright _and_ burning anger were _not_ a good combination to sit inside a child-sized stomach.

She needed them to give her more leads towards a more _cultured_ civilization, after all. It's hard to question pieces of meat and chunks of organs.

The man with lots of scars on his face – Iago – had gotten off his horse and led her around his 'market', showing her swords and armor, likely stolen – or, as he called it, 'high risk trading'. She had hoped the tour would eventually lead to their loading bay where the elves were, but it seemed the man had other plans. Instead of a straight path through each section of the camp, he made sure to go in a roundabout way, surely for time so his men could move the more questionable 'supplies' around.

"I was expecting other types of wares…" Toreii quietly mumbled, emphasizing on her disappointed tone. Iago had informed her they were traders of rations and army supplies, but she knew that was a lie.

"Oh? Exactly what kind of traders do you think we are?" Iago insisted with a disappointed voice. Shaking his head, he continued, "I'll have you know I run a legit and hon-"

"Iago! The elves are agitated! They started attacking our gu-"

Leaping from where he stood, Iago quickly clamped down on the bandit's mouth, eyeing him like he was a dead man.

However, that was nothing compared to the stink eye Ai forced Toreii to produce, leading Iago to cold-sweat. "_That_ kind of trader."

Every soldier within hearing distance averted their eyes from the village idiot who just came running in. They knew better than to be on the end of Iago's blade – the poor messenger was not going to last the night. Trying to make themselves look uninterested, they went back to their busy work, but still kept their ears open for the drama about to ensue.

"Hmm? What was that? Buying elves? From _me_?" Iago retorted, as if he was offended. "I'll have you know slavery is highly looked down on! My business would never do something so degrading." He smiled back at her innocently, as he motioned other men to take the terrified bandit away.

"How much?" Toreii asked, trying to play the situation out in her favor, showing she could see right through his lame excuses. "Is this enough?" She said, reaching into the sleeve of her robes where the 'tips' from before were hidden. Pulling out a new bag, she easily tossed it over to Iago.

It's much, _much_ heavier than the 'tips', too.

Trying to catch the item out of midair was a mistake on Iago's part, as his hands became numb on impact and his back crumbled over under the weight of what was now in his hands. The back of his hand hit the ground with a thud as pain shot up his arm, but his eyes left him in so much bewilderment.

Toreii had tossed him an entire ingot of platinum. She watched as he struggled to pick up the metal bar, but after a couple of minutes, had given up and summoned several men to his position. The ground underneath the bar had caved down, which seemed to confuse the soldiers who showed up on how to clear it away.

"Who... are you? _What_ are you?" Iago asked, rethinking some of his choices. He shook his hands to dull the pain away, as he pointed to the correct direction of their loading bay.

"I pay and there's 'no questions asked', remember?" Toreii reminded him.

Iago led her away, thinking back to his friend's words and whether he had gotten himself into something he should not have.

* * *

The cages were just as she remembered them, except the elves were just as the messenger had said. They were in a state of panic, trying to break free of their confines, even attacking the nearby guards as if they were feral animals. Iago started shouting orders to his men as they approached the holding bay. Even though he was a thief and a liar, he knew how to command his men well. The abrupt chaos only ended when the elves took a look at the apparent 10-years-old.

One by one, the wails and screams ended as Toreii entered their view. The younger elves, who did not know what was going on, were calmed and shushed by their older kin. '_Do I have something on my face?'_ She wondered, scanning the prisoners.

"You lot! Get the cargo up and out here! We've got a buyer!" Iago shouted to his men, "Line them up! Give them 5 whips if they aren't moving fast enough!"

Toreii visibly frowned at the foreman, quietly mumbling under her breath, "People aren't objects…"

"I'm not the one throwing my wallet around and buying them, am I?" quipped Iago, trying to rid himself of Toreii as quickly as he could. He had a 6th sense for incoming trouble, and the strange girl was raising one red flag after another. "Take your pick and get out of here. I don't want you causing me anymore trouble around here."

Several minutes passed, filled with shouting and shoving from the bandits, with the crack of a whip snapping at the elves every so often. Even with their more resilient bodies when compared to normal humans, there were ample signs of abuse among all of them. Some had severe lacerations on their back, with blood seeping through the brown rags barely clothing them, while others limped or could barely move their legs, which Toreii could only guess was from physical trauma.

Their meager shuffling only elicited the cruel wrath of their jailers. Tears trailed down their face with every whip, as quiet sniffling went on unheard. Iago stood unfazed by the scene, even grabbing the hair of a child elf and dragging her to stand in line with the others. A high pitched wail came from the crying girl as she struggled against Iago's tight grip. The other elves could only look dejected at her, unable to do anything.

"I'm not one to buy damaged goods, but since they aren't a product to you, I can expect full price for each of them?" Iago laughed as he looked back to her. His broad shoulders and puffed out chest tried their best to look intimidating to the little Deity, but it went unnoticed. "Feel free to inspect any of the goods before purchase. I'm a fair businessman, after all."

All of them looked fearful for their lives, more so than when she was spying on their camp earlier. Even if they could somehow see magical auras like Toreii could, she had swapped out one of her rings to hide her magical presence. It was not obvious to her what their fear was, until she followed their line of sight.

Almost all of them gave their undivided attention to the divine spear in her hand.

A single elf with heterochromia was the only one to look directly at Toreii. Short and petite like the young Deity, she held her head high and stood upright. She did not know if she had to pay extra for things like different colored eyes like she would have back in Yggdrasil, but so far, the bandits were fine with taking her low-level quest rewards. Yggdrasil gold could probably have been used, but being the hoarder that she was, she needed to clear her inventory of items which no longer had any uses.

"How much for all of them?" Toreii asked.

As if to mock her, Iago stood around with his arms crossed and stroked his chin like he was in deep thought. He knew from earlier she possessed items beyond what a mortal man could imagine. However, he did not need the King and his men chasing after him for answers he did not know himself. "I want triple their weight in gems and go-"

**\- Thunk!**

Toreii dropped a leather sack twice as big her head onto the ground. Gasps could be heard from the bandits as she walked past them to the elves.

"Double that," Iago snapped, stepping in front of her path.

"What?"

"I said double it," Iago said in a low tone, looking down at her. "The fact that you're paying asking price means there must be something important about these elves to you. I'm not going to ask what, as long as you pay _double_."

**\- Thunk!**

Another sack hit the ground and Toreii walked past in a hurry. These might have been useless items to her, but she did not have an unlimited supply of them. Just as she took a step forward, all the elves took a step back. Some of them had put up a fight against their captors, but against Toreii, they might just be trying to run against a walking plague.

"I do offer transportation of goods for a fee," Iago offered, ruffling through the bags to check their contents. Both bags were filled to the brim with gemstones, which only serve to ignite the greed in his heart.

Toreii turned back with a slight frown as her response. There was persistence… and then there was Iago. Every chance to make a quick sale, he took it. An image of Iago dressed in a suit, going door-to-door, bullying people into buying his product, swept across her mind. Even in this new world, people like Iago still existed.

With the elves grouped together and nowhere else to go, Toreii was finally able to approach them, except for one lone heterochromatic elf who stood in front of them. Although she was dressed in rags, like the others, this one was in better health. No whips or bruises were seen on her body, as if she was spared from the punishment.

"It's been a pleasure doing business with you," Iago laughed.

Reaching into the sleeve of her robe once again, Toreii pulled out a scroll parchment. It unfurled itself and burned up with a blue hue, which activated the spell within it. Her newly bought slaves went wide-eyed, as all of them were engulfed in a purple light.

\- [Mass Teleportation]

The bandits and soldiers around her gasped in shock and fear, including Iago, who grew pale in the face. His normally bronze skin was devoid of any color as his jaw hung loose from what he had just witnessed.

\- [Greater Teleportation]

"People aren't cargo," Toreii coldly replied, her golden eyes shimmering. Consumed in a similar purple light, the Deity teleported away. There was something different in her tone – earlier, Iago simply thought she's just an aloof inhuman sage, but now…

No, he knew now.

It was killing intent which permeated her last words.

Every single item she just gave away silently hummed with traces of magic, shimmering away unnoticed. Clearly, these traders had never seen a cloaked tracking spell before.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm pleased this got out faster than a month of waiting. Do you guys like the development? Is it too much? I'm trying to balance new world stuff and stuff happening in Asgard right now. Tell me if you guys prefer new world to Asgard affairs.


	9. Chapter 9 - Lies and Deceit

Finally rid of the pungent smell of unbathed men, Toreii took a breath of fresh air as she came out of her teleportation. She was back where she started, on the other side of the forest from where she drifted in from, along with the elves – whom she summarily teleported once again to the flat grasslands, for security's sake. There were plenty of Players like Iago back in Yggdrasil, who would do anything to make a quick profit, but it was still exhausting for her to deal with him.

"S-STAY BACK!" The older elves clamored. They huddled their youth behind themselves, using their physical bodies as a barrier against Toreii. "PLEASE LET THE YOUNG ONES GO! Eat us if you have to! We beg of you! The little ones have nothing to do with this!"

Toreii tilted her head in confusion, looking back at the elves who were inching further and further away from her. A wall was formed by the adult elves whose goal seemed to be to block her view of the captured children.

Her wikia/fandom page might have had some nasty comments and false rumors on it, but accusing her of eating children was a new one.

She took 1 step forward… and the elves responded with 3 steps back. Why they had not just started running away, she could only guess. If she moved anymore, both parties would have had to shout to be heard by one another. Unlike with the traders, where she had to make stuff up on the spot, Toreii chose her words carefully with the newly freed slaves.

"Why would I eat you?" Toreii asked, standing her ground. The month she spent practicing her speaking abilities still needed some work, but as long as she took her time, her anxiety could be contained.

"We know you're a d-dragon in disguise!" One of the elves spoke, with her companions nodding their heads in agreement.

'_Huh? What? Can dragons do that in this world?'_ She wondered. Doppelgängers were the only race in Yggdrasil she knew of capable of changing their appearance without the need of an item. It seemed in this New World, there were special abilities unique only to it too.

Still confused with their answer, Toreii replied back, "What makes you think I'm a dragon?"

Like it was the most obvious answer, the elves shouted in unison, "We can smell your dragon blood! And that golden spear! Only a dragon would ever be capable of owning something so frightening!"

'_I smell like dragon blood?'_ Toreii thought to herself as she gave herself a whiff. At best, she could only make out a tiny hint of iron on her robes. Now that the elves had mentioned it, the young Deity had yet to bathe once since coming to the New World. Her immortal body did not age or make secretions like her human body used to, so she didn't feel the natural urge to do so.

Even with superhuman senses, Toreii lacked the experience the New World natives took as common knowledge. Although dragons were considered mobs whom Players grinded for their EXP and material in Yggdrasil, it was a complete 180° in this world. A dragon was something to be feared, instead of _farmed_. However, that raised another question inside of her mind, since all of the dragons she had seen thus far were roughly akin to the Level 60 dragon mobs she used to farm.

Now that she had magically-inclined natives who were not on the kill-her-on-sight parade, it was time to test the limits of the New World. From the hydra, she knew Tiered Magic existed in this New World, including spells which were not native to Yggdrasil. Without her HUD, the only way to learn about these spells was to ask directly.

Thinking she can kill two birds with one stone, Toreii used some of the dramatic flair she practiced for the nobles. Sharply moving her arm into position, she pointed at ones of the elves like a God appointing his disciple. Out of all the elves to choose from, she picked the one who stuck out the most.

Because of the heterochromatic eyes watching her silently and diligently, an elf child was singled out by Toreii. Immediately after, the elves mobilize to block her view of the child. As if to play dumb, another elf spoke up to draw her attention away, "I will gladly be your sacrifice! Please allow the others to go! Great honorable dragon! I beg of you!"

Toreii was getting tired of these roundabout answers she kept getting, and she was even more tired of being called a dragon. With a silent sigh, she went with whatever cooperation she was going to get. "What Tier Magic can you use?"

The young adult elf who had volunteered herself stiffened in emotional panic, feeling like she was a produce at a market, being judged whether she was worth eating. She swallowed a hard knot in her throat and lied to make herself more appealing. "I c-can use fi-" she choked on her words as tears almost spilled out of her eyes, "se-... se-... THIRD! I can use T-Third Tier spells!"

The other elves around her did not have the heart to look at her. It was obvious to the ones old enough to understand what the single girl was doing. Her body shook nervously, using up all of her energy at once. Without the company of her kin, she was afraid she would fall to the ground any moment. Light green eyes which once sparkled turned red and puffy, as she held back her tears as best she could.

No more words were shared among them, but their silence was deafening. From behind her, a soft, small hand gently grasped hold of hers. She could no longer hold back her tears, as the salty droplets ran with full force down her face. Every fiber in her being told her to turn around, to glimpse at who she was protecting one last time, but she could not. There would be more anguish for everyone if she did. It was now her burden to bear, and hers alone.

Had her vision not been blurred by tears, the young elf would have seen Toreii's quizzical look. With a single eyebrow raised as if asking, '_Is that all?' _she patiently waited to see if there would be more exposition from the elves. A full minute passed and there were still no more answers to her questions.

"Third-Tier?" Toreii repeated out loud. The elves reeled back from her voice, as if they wanted desperately to shout to her, '_What more do you want?!'_ "Can all of you use Third-Tier? Or just her?"

Dozens of eyes looked away from the Deity, unable to force themselves to become the next martyr. The elf girl who spoke up earlier realized she was alone in this confrontation. The unity she felt earlier crumbled away piece by piece, as resentment poured its way into her heart. Her hand gave a tiny squeeze to the child's whom she was desperately trying to protect, and she took her last stand, "It's o-only me…"

If the elves knew Toreii could see magical auras, they would not have been so callous as to lie to her. Every adult elf she looked at had the same magical prowess, if her vision is to still be trusted. All of the children had little-to-no magical auras at all, except for one: the single elf girl with red and purple eyes. She had her suspicions earlier, but since the slavers made no hassle about it, Toreii thought it was for only cosmetic reasons heterochromia existed and was prized.

Tired of not getting any straightforward answers, Toreii had to step out of her comfort zone to get what she needed. "The girl behind you; can she not use spells higher than the Third-Tier?" Toreii asked politely. Among the light flares of magical auras, the heterochromatic girl was the only one with a concentrated and focused light. "Who is she? What is she to you?"

"S-she's just a child! M-My… younger sister! Please s-spare her…" the girl cried. As long as the girl she was protecting lived on, she was fine tarnishing herself in front of the other elves to do so.

A gentle whisper came from behind the elf, which caused her to freeze up, "Lyra… It's okay. I'm sorry I got you involved in this. I'm sorry I got everyone in this mess…" Gently pushing her way from behind the crowd, Lyra, who was still holding her hand, collapsed onto the ground.

"I am sorry to have deceived you for so long," the young girl spoke to Toreii. Walking away from the protection of her group, the others could only hang their heads low in shame. "I am Vy Nir Nythymyr, Third Princess of the Elven Kingdom of Gallahan," she proudly proclaimed with a deep bow to Toreii. "From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for freeing my people. They have endured much to keep me safe, but I can no longer stand to watch them suffer. I am unable to repay you for the kindness and mercy you've us, but I can offer myself."

"P-Please reconsider th-"

"I am capable of Fourth-Tier Magic," Vy announced like it was a royal decree, silencing her subject's protest.

'_Only the Fourth-Tier? I guess she looks pretty young to be getting into the higher tiers. But she's royalty? Maybe she can teach me how to act around the nobles! But… Should I bring her to Asgard? Maybe just my base for now… I don't know how they will react to the natives of this world…'_ Ai thought to herself. Things were finally starting to look up for her, but the time crunch of the noble meeting was almost here. With only a few days left, she would have to learn quickly and as much as she could from the princess.

"Do you have a place to go?" Toreii asked. Bringing them to Asgard was a definite no right now. If there was an elven kingdom nearby, she could sit and watch one of their royal proceedings and learn for when she had to do the same.

Keeping her head bowed, the elven princess's voice turned to a low whisper, "I'm… afraid not. I have run away from my home, thus abdicating my title and any claims to my kingdom. In the eyes of my people… I'm nothing more than a lowly traitor."

"You ran away from home?" Toreii softly spoke. Although sudden, after gaining her own daughters, the Deity wondered everyday if they were happy. Being confined to their place of birth exclusively was not exactly what she wanted for children. Hearing Vy ran away from her own kingdom made her wonder if any of her NPCs would ever do the same.

After a brief pause, the young elf finally spoke, "Y-Yes… That is why I am unable to repay you for your kindness. All I have is my being and my knowledge, but please… " Vy's voice was barely audible to a normal person now, her royal presence from earlier melting away. "Do not ask me to betray my kingdom. My people… Let me die today knowing they are safe than to let me live to see their anguish. That is my only request of you, noble dragon!" She asked, her tears fully flowing and leaving droplets on the grass below, her earlier composure completely gone after so long under this 'dragon's' intense scrutiny.

A bit petered she was still being called a dragon, Toreii closed her eyes and gently sighed. The first thing she was going to do once she was back in Asgard was take a bath. Of all the basic necessities to forget about, bathing should _not_ have been one of them. Why not even her own NPCs had mentioned it to her once made her embarrassed.

"I'm not going to eat you…" Toreii sighed to the bowing elf, "And I am not a dragon! I've just been… slaying a bunch of dragons recently." Technically it was only a single hydra, but if she were counting heads, it would have exceeded over 1,000.

Surprised by the sudden proclamation, Vy looked to the Deity in a new light, "Y-You've slain dragons?!" If what she heard was true, then merely bowing her head was the greatest insult she could have shown to her savior. "W-What Tier Magic was able to kill a dragon?!"

"What Tier…? Uhh… I guess at least the 7th? Maybe the 8th for a quick kill," Toreii answered nonchalantly as if it was common knowledge. Dragons in Yggdrasil had a great deal of natural resistances among their kind, but any Level 100 Player with good spell rotations and kiting skill could zerg a dozen dragons down for their material with ease. The spawn timer Players had to wait in-between each run took longer than actually killing the dragons.

Vy's head immediately hit the ground with a soft thud, as she prostrated before Toreii. The claim was as preposterous as the myths about dragons she heard growing up. However, with the golden spear at her side and the smell of dragon blood on her body, it was impossible for Vy to dismiss such claims like the 7th- and 8th-Tier of magic. Her own father, the King, was capable of the 6th-Tier after learning for some 300 years. If the rumors she heard from her captors were true, then the being before her was truly about 10,000 years old.

"P-Please forgive me! I meant you no disrespect," her muffled voice cried through the ground she was facing. Her forehead was deep in the dirt, lower than her own lowest bows to her father in the past.

'_Why is she bowing so deep… Didn't that hurt? A kid shouldn't be made to do this…'_ Toreii thought to herself. Everyone only had one childhood, and to see the kid in front of her lose hers made her feel uneasy. She raised a hand to try to stop the elven princess, but the gesture was going onto deaf ears. "You don't have to bow to me. I'm not that special."

Seeing the girl was not going to raise her head any time soon, Toreii sighed internally and slowly approached the elf. The group behind the princess who once stood motionless now moved into action to try to intercept the Deity. They all stopped in their tracks as Toreii shot them a glare she had spent hours practicing beforehand. She was done dealing with their nonsense and non-answer answers.

Her entirety body stiffened as Toreii gently touched her shoulder with a hand.

The yellow rays of sunlight were burning into a crimson purple, which told her she would have to return to Asgard soon. With no idea as to how the Asgardians would react to foreigners, her Parthenon was the only immediate shelter she could offer.

"Please don't bow to me," Toreii assured with a gentle tone, "I was only doing what was right. My… friends taught me that." Although she did not know if the rest of them were alive or not, she could at least be proud to know they left an impact on the New World through her.

Vy barely peeked her head up, just enough to get a glimpse of a being capable of killing a dragon. The young girl looked no older than she did, which was misleading since the elven princess was almost 50 years in age. However, the only thing she saw through her tears was a warm smile from her savior.

If there was a female God, _this_ was her… and she looked 10.

"I-I heard from those humans you were… 10,000 y-years old? Is that how you're able to use the 8th-Tier?" Vy asked.

"Oh… that… Well, you see…" Toreii began her explanation. Of all the possible lies she could have come up with, it was hard to explain why she was not a few eons old. However, it was probably easier to roll with the punches instead of evading them, because there's a high potential of getting suckered by another. "Yeah… I'm 10,000 years old. Is it not common for people to know of the 8th-Tier?"

"Only those of great talent and skill are capable of using magic higher than the 3rd-Tier. My… father… He was a prodigy from birth. After 300 years of academics and self-study, he was able to achieve the 6th-Tier." The knot in her throat threatened to completely block her airways, as Vy peered at her first counter of a true immortal. "W-Were you sealed away by the dragons? Did they fear your 8th-Tier spells? Is the 8th-Tier… the realms of Godhood?"

'_Godhood…? In the 8th-Tier? Do the natives of this world not have higher-tier spells?'_ she wondered to herself. It was probably best to not mention there existed the 11th-Tier for now. If the elf girl thought only Gods can use the 8th-Tier, then she would hate to see her mind shatter under the weight of knowing there were Super-Tier spells.

"Yes…" Toreii replied, giving no indication as to what question she was answering.

The royal visage Vy once adorn had already crumbled away, as her true maturity started to shine through. There was excitement in her voice, the young girl giddy from learning some fairytales were actually true. "W-Will you accept me as your st-student?" she begged.

"My… student?" Toreii repeated with hesitation. If it was just a single student in academics, she could probably manage, but a teacher in magic? She had barely grasped how her own magic worked in this world, and to teach someone else something she had no clue on was just asking for trouble. However, she needed to learn nobility skills before her upcoming meeting. If it was just teaching Vy the 5th-Tier, then Toreii might be able to manage. If it took the elf's father 300 years to learn the 6th-Tier, then she had plenty of time to stall till then.

Choosing her words carefully, Toreii crafted a dialogue tree in her mind. She had all the cards in her hands – all she needed to do was not tell more outrageous lies about herself. "But don't you already owe a debt to me for saving you and these other elves?"

As soon as she mentioned it, Vy's face was crestfallen. The elf princess was already in debt to her savior, and now she was pushing for more than she should have. What the Goddess in front of her said was true. Although her intentions were pure, Vy had no way to repay the debt she already owed. She ran away from her kingdom because she was weak. There was no other explanation for it. If this fated meeting did not occur, she might have spent the rest of her long life in slavery, becoming a lowly human's plaything.

Now was the only chance she had to change her destiny. A walking God who knew magic strong enough to kill dragons was staring her down. It was surreal to meet someone, who was just mere moments ago, pure myths and legends to her. All these thoughts swirled around in her mind, but it all ultimately led back to her people. She ran away because she could not save her people. She was weak, and frail, and young, and useless…

"Teach me the 8th-Tier… and I will give you my kingdom," Vy declared proudly.

'_What…?'_

"M-My lady! You mustn't!" The older elves cried as they rushed to her side, with the children following them closely after.

"Silence!" Vy demanded, sharply throwing her hand to one side with regal elegance. Not only did the other elves go quiet, but they also recoiled back after remembering whose presence they were in.

"Didn't you say earlier you left your kingdom?" Toreii questioned in a panic. She did not expect the royal descendent to rush into learning magic this badly.

"My kingdom is at war with the Orcs. It has been so for the last 100 years, even if it is not officially declared. My people… They are not warriors or mages, or even have a fighting spirit. We live in harmony with the spirits around us. My father… He will not stand up for our people… But I will fight for the lives of my fellow elves!" Vy spoke like a true paragon.

Toreii was speechless against the ruler's disposition. As if she was swooned by a natural 20 on a critical speech check, there was not much argument she could put up — beside the fact she did not know how magic worked in this New World. However, the setting sun meant she was out of time. Asgard and its inhabitants needed her presence.

"Let's make a deal."

* * *

"Mother! You've returned safely once again," a cheerful voice clamored as Vy blinked away the blurriness in her eyes from teleporting. "Do we have more guests this time?"

"Yes… I'm sorry to burden you all the time, Viridi," Toreii apologized. "I'll be back later, so please treat these elves well."

The young God before her was gone again in a swirl of purple light. Using her small hands to rub her eyes, Vy forced them to adjust to her new surroundings. Ample amount of gasping could be heard behind her, which caused jitters in her heart as to what her savior was talking about earlier. With her vision finally clearing, the green grass and trees were no longer here, replaced by grey stone instead. The earthy smell she was used to was instead replaced by a flowery aroma, the same kind she loved during the first blossom of spring.

She and her fellow escapees were standing on a warm stone path, just a few steps away from an ascending stairway leading to a monolith. As if she were transported through space and time, the architecture was nothing short of the work of God. Every inch of the alabaster stone was finely detailed with arcane patterns never seen before in elven history. Even her own castle, which stood several times higher than this building, would be akin to nothing more than an eyesore.

Yet, her eyes were entrapped by the lone beauty who was able to call a God her 'mother'. Angelic wings, light and fluffy, were as pure as the gowns the elfling wore. Even with a life of pampering and handmaidens at her beck and call, her own blond hair was lackluster to the shining golden locks the descending elf had.

Claim to her father's throne flowed through her blood, but what was a king to a God?

Kneeling down on one knee, the demigod smiled warmly to Vy, speaking in a calm tone like a mother to a child, "My name is Viridi. Welcome to my home."

* * *

**~~~ 1 Week Later**

The integration of the elves went as smooth as she could have hoped. Although they were solely confined to her Parthenon, it was far more spacious than their previous enclosure. Viridi had everyone cleaned and clothed properly by the next morning Toreii had visited. Her eldest daughter did not seem to mind busy work in the slightest, but she still felt bad about dumping a small town's worth of elves into her lap.

As if she were in Athens, all of the beings walking around her base were clothed in togas. The younger elf children were aloof, playing with each other by the water fountain which Toreii had managed to fix with Yggdrasil gold. Thankfully, the guild base still had its functionalities, which meant it could still be used as a stronghold if needed. Although that was not the only thing which made her heart flutter in happiness…

The inhumane scars the humans had left on the elves' ears had been fully healed, something which all of the elves had considered nothing short of a miracle. Even the elves who were psychologically damaged, Toreii was surprised Viridi had the ability to edit the memories of the ones who wish to forget their traumatic experiences. These kinds of skills would have been considered useless in Yggdrasil's PVP community, but to the elves, it was a godsend.

Every day, when Toreii came down for her lessons with Vy, a crowd of elves could be seen discreetly following Viridi, to whom overnight these elves had turned from followers to _worshipers_ of her everything. Toreii would have been very embarrassed by the attention, but her daughter accepted the glorification with open arms. Even Gratia was not immune to the confidence and charisma the ancient elf extruded. The once proud and temperamental dragon girl was eagerly following Viridi, dressed in a maid outfit no less, no longer caring about her own self-image.

From what she could gather discreetly, her choice of levelling up Viridi's racial levels as an [Elf] meant that to Vy and her fellow elves, her angelic daughter could be considered their great ancestor – a progenitor of the race, one could say.

It only made it more awkward when she followed that line of thought: She was Viridi's _mother_, whom the elves now considered an ancient spirit worth worshipping. So, Toreii's standing in their eyes rose exponentially again, necessitating her to reconstruct her agreement with the elves about how to react around her.

Her Parthenon, once barren, was filled with chatter and commotion, something which she wanted to achieve with her 30 NPCs originally, but that dream was cut short. She wondered how long this moment was going to last, as she gazed from the fountain entrance. Today was the last day of her lessons with Vy, whom she had struck a bargain with. The elf may have appeared to be a mere child, but her actual age was greater than Ai's.

It was strange to be acting like a 10,000-years-old God, and the lies she had to keep track of was getting more and more out of hand. So far, she was an old God, born well before the time of civilization, or any of the other Gods which the elves worship. However, some time ago, about 5 or 6 thousand years, she had been sealed away by all of dragon-kind as they feared her powers. During her banishment from this plane of existence, the world had forgotten her, including the dragons who were supposed to keep her sealed. Upon obliterating her magical prison, she summoned her greatest treasure and massacred a horde of dragons numbering in the millions. Every retelling of her fake backstory had a new element to it, which was usually a new highly-exaggerated feat.

Even by Yggdrasil standards, Toreii was apparently accomplishing things which would make even the devs think was unbalanced. She desperately wanted to correct them and to say it was all a big misunderstanding, but the lies just got bigger and bigger. Toreii could do nothing but weather it, and hope none of this gets out to the outside world.

Vy was at least able to contain her own imagination, sticking to the bargain Toreii had planned out. In the next 100 years or so, the elf princess had to let her body grow in order to be able to handle the pressure of the higher-tier spells — at least that was the lie Toreii had come up with to delay teaching her. She was sure by then she could figure out how magic could be learned and taught in this New World.

The first of the lessons for Toreii from the elf started with correcting her posture and how to handle herself. From the way she carried herself to how she held her divine spear, it was with royal prose and purpose. Every step forward was with confidence and power, every sway of her twin pigtails with elegance and refinement, and every look with her eyes beautiful and intelligent.

It was completely different than the training she put herself through earlier!

She did not want to call it a waste of time, but it truly was all drama for the sake of drama. Instead of an extravagant display meant to showcase all of her movement, she was to act subtle, to let the weight and purpose of her intentions be the thing leaving an impact. Yet that was not even half the battle.

With only 7 days to get a crash course on how upper nobility behaved, her body once again practiced its pose while her mind learned. Although every form of government was different, every monarchy had noble families whom one would delegate sections of the city to. Each one was like rungs on a ladder, each one ranked by whatever system the devs had set Asgard up as. Government was always Toreii's foible, but that was no longer avoidable.

Things were finally looking up for Toreii, which was why she was worried something might come out of the blue to ruin all of her progression. She had managed to secure herself a teacher in all things royal, but that did not mean she was out of the frying pan just yet. Even if she could _act_ and _look_ royal, any decision made by her would also be a royal decree. Good decisions, bad decisions, any made by her would be taken as the law.

Although she had originally lied to Vy about… _everything_… The weight she felt now, the burden of a nation on her shoulders, that monumental weight has always been on the elf's since the day she was born. Toreii truly did want to come clean to the princess, so she might have someone to confide with about her worries, but for now, she walked the path of a lone God.

"Thank you, Vy," Toreii said from the bottom of her heart.

Watching the Deity practice since dawn, the princess was resting her legs by the fountain's ledge. Since the the lessons began, Vy began learning more about who saved her from a life of slavery. A God who knows right from wrong, when to help and how sincerity carried more weight than power. What astonished her most was not the 8th-Tier of magic or the God's heavenly home, but the humility Toreii was constantly showing.

Kings and queens born and raised to act superior to everyone, yet the one being who was superior to any king was as modest as the clothes she wore. All of her life, Vy expected Gods to be incapable of emotions, which was why they could so easily turn a blind eye to the suffering of the world they created. Yet these expectations were subverted every day she spent with _this_ God.

"No, thank _you_, not just for saving everyone here," Vy spoke softly, looking to her people freely moving around. "Thank you for giving them a new home and for giving me… hope…"

"Really… I didn't do much," Toreii quickly retorted. Finishing her last day of training, the Deity took a long breather, stretching her arms and legs.

"Please don't sell short what you've accomplished! Not even I can give everyone here what you have…" Vy said back. It troubled her to see Toreii apologize for being a burden on Viridi, yet was fine to undersell herself with her own feats. "You're so… so… kind…" she mumbled in a whimper.

"Are Gods supposed to be mean?" Toreii asked back, "I've haven't met any other ones."

"No… I just mean… Well…" Vy hesitated, getting flustered, "The Gods my people worshiped were… more like spirits. They were the spirits of the air, of the land, of the animals, of the forest, of the mountains, of the rivers, or of the heart. Only humans really had any Gods to worship… but they are all nothing like how you act…"

The Deity gave a nonchalant shrug to the elf, aloofly asking, "Am I one of the Gods they worshiped?"

"No… I suppose not. But why did you save us? We're just mortals," the princess asked. She carefully looked Toreii up and down, "Even if I live to be 1,000, I'm still 10,000 years behind you. How… How can any of our lives be seen as worth saving to you?"

It would be hard to explain her actual reasoning for saving the elves. How could she just say, ":My friends were world champions, and they taught me to believe freedom is the right of all sentient beings!" How could she say straight to the elf's face, "I'm not actually 10,000 years old. I'm just a graduate student too afraid to become a professor." Who was she to judge a person's worth? Who was she to decide who gets to live or die? Who was she to decide if a person went to heaven or hell?

[Divine Judgement] was something only a Go-… an [Allfather] could pass…

Could she actually send the dead to Valhalla? Was there even a Valhalla in Yggdrasil? Is there a Valhalla in the New World? Did the devs even program in a Valhalla in the first place? What is _Valhalla_ now? How did _she_ decide who gets to go to Valhalla? These were all things she wished had been explained to her before the game ended. Not only did she not know much about the New World, but she also did not even know much about herself.

If only she had a magical wish-granting tree…

"I just saw someone who needed help. I didn't judge if you were worth saving. Why would I need to?" Toreii aptly replied after some thought.

Vy was originally told the Deity had spent too much time away from civilization being sealed by the dragons. So the Goddess had asked the elf to teach her how modern nobility functioned and behaved. However, now that Vy had seen _who_ Toreii is, she wondered if it was possible at all for such a being to ever fit into hierarchy type government. Very few people in Vy's life ever helped someone in need because it was the right thing to do. Politics was always a game of gains and losses, except it was rigged against every loser who thought they could claw their way to power.

She understood now what it means to have power, what it looks like to be at the top and to feel nothing but pity for those below. Yet it was not with contempt that a higher being came at her time of need, but with a passion for life. Vy understood now why she hated her father… why the strength of a person can only be dependable if there was also strength of character. Whatever reason Toreii had for wanting to learn about higher nobility, Vy knew in her heart it would be for the betterment for everyone.

"I guess… I was raised to expect help always came with a price…" Vy answered, eyes downcast.

"Who raises their kid to think that?" Toreii said aloud. Realizing she said it with her mouth and not her thoughts, she gave the elf an apologetic look, "I mean no disrespect to your parents."

"Who indeed…" Vy mumbled under her breath, careful not to let her savior hear. "It wasn't always like this… I only ran away because… I couldn't live with the person my father has grown to be."

"And your mother…?" Toreii carefully asked.

Closing her eyes, Vy took long, deep, calm breaths. As if a terrible amount of weight had been lifted from her conscience, she confessed to the only God she knew. "I don't know… I woke up one day and she was gone. My father… never said anything, so I didn't ask."

'_Is this how Nanami felt every time I left the Parthenon? Do all my NPCs think this way? Do the Asgardians?'_ Toreii wondered. She had responsibilities now, not just to Asgard, but also to her own daughters. '_I really am a bad mom sometimes…'_

"I'll help you fi-"

"NO! Please… You've done so much already… I can't keep having someone else solve my problems for me. I'm not a child anymore," the princess clamored.

Toreii leisurely walked to the fountain where the elf sat, taking a seat right beside her. She did not need the cosmic insight of Odin or her superhuman vision to know the elf was holding back tears. Every day that her thoughts wandered back to her NPCs, Toreii found herself thinking back to her own upbringing. '_What would my mom do?'_ or '_How did she get through with raising me?'_ were the things she constantly asked herself.

She did not know how to console someone else, nor had she ever done so… or _needed_ to do so. If one of her students had failed the class or was nearing failure, it was their responsibility, not hers – she would have thought as such a month ago. Toreii did not personally mind helping the elves or their princess. It gave her something to take her mind off of Asgard briefly, which she was grateful for.

She could deal with stuff like slavery or unequal treatment of other races, since those could be solved by physical means. A child missing her mother but not wanting to bother others to help look for their missing parent was something well beyond her current comfort field. Toreii felt guilty, unable to find the words she wanted to say to the elf. With Vy as her teacher, in a single week, Toreii had managed to get her jitters from speaking to new people down to something more manageable.

The Deity no longer felt she needed long pauses to think of possible dialogue trees or the need to relate everything to a game in order to cope. Meeting new people no longer put her straight into 'impending doom' mode, but now only bothered her as much as an inconvenient hassle. '_Children are way easier to talk to…'_ she quietly thanked Vy for. At the start of the week, it was because her teacher was a small child that Toreii could get enough composure to learn something. Yet, as she got more comfortable, she was sure even if Vy was not a child, the same results would be achieved.

Reaching into her sleeve, Toreii searched through her inventory. "Here," she said, pulling out the chocolate bar she had hidden away. There was only a single piece missing from a month ago when she first arrived. She did not know if chocolate bars created by the Tree of Life had expiration dates, but since the piece of candy had not melted yet, her inventory was probably a good enough storage space for it.

Watching the Deity break off a tiny piece, Vy carefully accepted the unknown object. "What is it?"

Toreii wanted to jokingly say, "_Food of the Gods,"_ but knowing the elf, she would probably believe it. "It's magical," she answered, eating a piece herself. It was still as good as the first piece she ate so long ago. It could have been nostalgia melting her taste buds into total bliss, but in all honesty, hunger is the greatest seasoning.

Following her savior's example, Vy eagerly put the piece on her tongue. It was sweet, very light and not overwhelming. Honey and fruit were the only things she knew of whcih were naturally sweet, but as expected from a God, there were foods only a higher being could enjoy. "Thank you," she said, after all of it had melted away.

"Just treat me the next time we're in your kingdom, and I'll call it even," Toreii replied, her mouth watering at the thought of actual food in her stomach. Even if the elves ate nothing but fruits and veggies, anything was better than nothing in her empty belly.

"It will be _your_ kingdom the next time we see it," Vy reminded her.

Asgard was already a handful for Toreii as was her Parthenon and the NPCs who guard it. She had yet to come up with a polite excuse for the elf, since outright saying, "_I'm too busy to rule your kingdom. Can't you do it yourself?"_ would just be rude. Toreii had yet to master ruling her own kingdom, let alone a foreign one. However, if it were just an ambassadorial kind of deal, then Toreii could probably send a delegate every now and then.

"I'm sorry, Vy, but I have my own kingdom to rule. My people need me after being gone for so long," Toreii excused herself, remembering to go along with the fake God backstory. "I promised you I would teach you magic, so I'll keep to that promise. I don't know how long I'll be with my people, so for now, Viridi will be your teacher."

Viridi and her 'maid dragon' were already fast approaching the duo. "Good evening, Mother, Princess Vy," she greeted with a smile.

Vy quickly bowed to the demigod, remembering her status. She knew it was fine to be informal around Toreii, but Viridi had a presence which demanded respect. The elf-god was more akin to what she expected a God to behave, superior and always looking down on mortals. Despite the blood relation, the demeanor between the mother and daughter was like night and day.

"Good evening, Lady Viridi. Thank you for allowing me to learn from you," Vy greeted back, still keeping her head low.

With a purple glow, Toreii disappeared from among the two girls.

* * *

Finally back in Odin's chambers, Toreii breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a tough week, but she stuck it out. Learning the proper inner workings of nobility life was the biggest mental exhaustion she had faced yet. However, halfway through the week, it dawned on her the nobility are NPCs created by the devs. Upon the realization that, until she met with them personally, it was 50/50 whether or not the NPCs acted with subtlety or dramatic flair.

"My love! You have returned!" Frigga announced. The Asgardian was once again waiting around for Toreii's return, with a beaming smile and a hug ready for her beloved.

"I miss you too," Toreii said, getting her face stuffed with the queen's midriff, and the crown of her head nestling in Frigga's underboobs.

To be with her king again was heavenly for Frigga. Preparations for meeting with the nobles had been completed. Handwritten letters of invitations were sent out promptly a month ago, which were returned to her one by one by who would attend. With the list of families in hand, the Queen of Asgard had been meticulously shuffling around which families stood where, to cause the least amount of trouble for her husband. The smoother the proceedings went, the more time she would get to spend with her one true love.

"I have prepared everything for the meeting tomorrow, my beloved, as well as a list of things they wish to be addressed," Frigga said. Regretfully ending their warm embrace, she handed a parchment to the Deity.

Breaking the wax seal holding the scroll tight, it unfurled itself to the ground. '_This list is longer than I am tall! Who has this much stuff to talk about?! Is this meeting supposed to be a week long?!'_ Toreii cursed inside.

Well, admittedly, she's not _that _tall… No, she could be considered closer to being dwarf-sized, when compared to Frigga's supermodel-like figure. So the list wasn't actually _that_ imposing…

"The first greetings shall start at daybreak, then we shall proceed with their questions for you, my beloved, and end with a feast for the nobles," Frigga informed, listing off the itinerary from memory.

'_A feast? Maybe this meeting isn't so bad after all. This sounds great! I can't wait for tomorrow!'_ Toreii's stomach thought to itself. Even though physical food was the only thing on her mind, her conscience reminded her of her manners. "Thank you for handling everything."

Things were finally looking up for Toreii.

* * *

**A/N:** This took longer than I would have liked. I've read some of your feedback and I'll keep the New World stuff to side characters every now and then. For now I'll focus on Toreii and Asgard. Keep up with the feedback.


	10. Chapter 10 - Fake it Till You Make It

It was finally the day she spent a month preparing for. The butterflies in her stomach were fluttering around, frantically trying to migrate to her throat. Although the nervousness never quite left her, Toreii had learned to manage it in a better way. Having just woken from her sleep, she was still mentally preparing herself for the coming meeting.

Being a ruler was difficult. There was almost no freedom or time for oneself, and everything one said could and would be used against them – to her, nothing more than a political prisoner with a few extra chains and weights around her steps. She never expected herself to be the one where every single word she spoke could be taken as a declaration of war. It was nonsensical, the power words held when one is put on a stage.

The last thing she wanted was to be misinterpreted.

[Gungnir] floated patiently where she last left it the night before. Although the divine weapon could not physically speak, that did not stop Toreii from speaking to it. One-sided conversations were had since she gained possession of it. She did not expect it to one day magically talk back to her, but it was nice to have something she could vent to.

The shrine maiden robes she had been wearing were neatly folded. Even if she were the almighty Allfather now, she still had to do her own laundry. It was quite embarrassing to have been told by someone else that the stains on your clothes were giving off bad smells. Although she only killed the one hydra, there was enough blood on her uniform to drive the elves into a frenzy.

Without the red and white robes covering her World Champion armor, the metal was giving off a prismatic shine without any source of light. Just as Asgard was a golden city of light, the Asgardian World Champion armor was golden from head to toe. When she found the armor in the treasury, it was in the same size as when the devs first offered it to her. Although she had declined it, she cannot deny it was personally crafted and designed with her race and job levels in mind.

Grasping the familiar wooden handle of her divine spear, Toreii pushed against the cold obsidian doors of her bed chambers. Even though Frigga now was the one who carried the armor she had personally crafted, the golden armor felt nice and comforting – a home away from home. The Deity's ears picked up the sound of a busy staff working tirelessly throughout the castle. Starting from the very bottom of Asgard, the clamor got louder and louder as more NPC servants rushed to get their jobs done.

Entering the lower chambers of Odin's castle, Valkyries stood guard everywhere. Upon seeing her, the elite warriors would bow their heads to her, asking Toreii if she needed anything. It was still strange to her to be waited by servants, and for some, their entire purpose of life _was_ to serve. Did they all want to serve her? Was it their choice, or by design? It would make her uncomfortable if these NPCs worked because they had no other choice.

These thoughts were prevalent inside her mind as she made her way further upwards, gaining several Valkyries as bodyguards on the way. Although she did not tell them to, each one she saw quietly followed behind her. Even if they were Odin's personal elite guards, Toreii found it bothersome to be constantly trailed by others.

Finally out of the underground, she was now in the central part of the castle, where the noble NPCs would be arriving and waiting for her in the throne room. Having explored the castle a great deal of times, she had mapped the entire palace out in her mind. Even though Asgard was just a single floating city, its population and size was closer to a small sovereign nation. 100,000 NPCs who were just bits of data, now made into flesh, had Toreii worried about her own capabilities.

Why were they obedient to her? Out of fear? Duty? Or because there was no other choice? A small sample set like Frigga did not make up the entire population of Asgard. Was their reason for being loyal something she could freely ask them? Did her people want to appease her? Or did she serve to appease them? What kind of ruler was Odin? What kind of ruler would Toreii be? She hoped to find an answer to at least one of these questions.

Turning the last corner before the throne room, a set of arched, double doors were swung wide open for the world to view. Yggdrasil was beautifully etched into the golden doors, each side containing half of the Tree of Life. Asgardians in similar gold decorative armor lined the pathway to the entrance. As if the devs had run out of color after building the 8 other worlds, Asgard was almost exclusively enraptured by the concept and color of gold.

"The Allfather has arrived!" The Asgardians guards announced in unison. The combination of their voices drowned out the ongoing conversations in the throne room, as a wave of silence emerged from the back all the way to front. Thousands of eyes turned to her, looks of admiration and respect abound.

The hall was filled with eloquent bodies, their movement in tandem and without hesitation like a single organism. The Valkyries, without even a word among themselves, formed a wedge with their bodies, leaving a cleared path for their king. At the end of the throne room, the silver warriors split on separate sides, walking up a tiny stairway and behind a golden throne. Their pace was slow and methodical, as if to give the nobles time to arrange themselves in a proper manner fitting for the arrival of their king. The mouths of the nobles were sealed tight without as much a peep, but their eyes moved like a predator's.

Toreii watched in awe and amazement at the NPC's coordination, wondering if this was originally an animated cut-scene in Yggdrasil. She had to give credit to the devs on this one. Even if 'balance' was a term they never understood, the people who created Asgard poured their blood, sweat, and tears into it. Her own Parthenon, even if she spent the next hundred years designing it without any data limit, could not compare to the magnificence of the Asgardians.

All that was missing was for Odin to take his seat on the throne. Frigga was already seated on her own throne, smiling and waiting eagerly for her beloved. The assembly waited for Toreii to make her move. Lady Sif stood by Odin's throne, while Loki stood next to his mother. Heimdall seemed to not be here, which made sense since he only left his watch tower for emergencies.

With all eyes on her, Toreii gently took the first step to her throne. This would be the second time she walked through these halls, but the first with her World Champion armor in clear view. She was always ashamed she never earned the right to wear the armor, that what those other Players said at the tournament was true: she only won because she cheated. After finding it stowed away in Asgard, guilt chipped away at her being for wanting to wear it, as the reputation of the other World Champions was something she did not want to tarnish.

Toreii was 100 steps away from the throne.

When the game became real, when Toreii became real, the first time she put the armor on it was light, almost weightless on her young body — yet the Deity's heart ached from those awful words which resonated in her. What if it were someone else who became World Champion of Asgard? Who would they be? Who would Toreii be now? Where would she be? In this new world still or would she have quit the game by then?

Toreii was 90 steps away from the throne.

She did regret winning the way she did, but most of all, she regretted how she acted when the other competitors called her out on her unorthodox build. "_Winning is winning. Who cares how I do it?"_ were her exact words. Toreii could not blame the world for alienating her because she was just as much at fault. Actions have consequences, no matter how little or trivial. Words of banter today could be the end of a lifetime friendship tomorrow. Yet…

Toreii was 80 steps away from the throne.

…yet, her friends did not see it that way. The other World Champions did not condemn her for her past words or actions, but instead taught her to see what she could be, what she _did_ become. A person who is born human will always have their humanity, no matter who they were or what they are now. Humanity will always be the last thing to go.

Toreii was 70 steps away from the throne.

A person who grows cold and cruel, who thinks they have shredded their last piece of humanity, would still find these pieces in their memories, memories of a time when things were not so cold and cruel. No one was born evil or devilish or an outcast or perfect. Every path is open to us until we have chosen not to take it. This is why Toreii could never blame others for her own misfortune — besides the occasional dev mishap.

Toreii was 60 steps away from the throne.

The shining platinum knight who once lectured her on helping others – she wondered where he was now. Did he make it to the New World? Did they all make it? Toreii did not know. Still… Even if their physical presence was not here, their teachings would continue on… she swore on it. She would prove them right, prove to them their trust in her, their unanimous agreement she was worthy of holding the World Champion title, was not misplaced.

She was halfway now.

The Deity's heart no longer felt heavy. It was light, soft and proud. Every single NPC she walked passed – no, every _person_ she passed had placed their trust and well-being in her care. The secret [Allfather] Class was more than just the 5 levels she grinded for – it was the weight of a nation, the expectation of a ruler, a protector, a rightful king.

To think she would go from deciding the immediate future of several students to the livelihood of 100,000 people…

10 steps away now.

Frigga's warm, beaming smile was the first thing to greet her, knocking Toreii out of her train of thought. Even with her rash judgement, or stalker tendencies, or spontaneous declaration of love, the Asgardian had not only proven her reliability but also earned a deep trust from Toreii. She was glad to have someone lessen her burden during her initial transition into this new world.

Ascending the stairs to her throne, Toreii took a seat as the rightful king of Asgard.

'_Odin's throne… Why is it so uncomfortable?!'_

The golden throne was cold to the touch, with practically no comfort in mind embedded in its design. There were no cushions for the arms or butt, and no lumbar support for her back. Once again, the devs had found a way to irk her so early in the morning. Yet right beside her, Frigga was sitting in a relaxed manner, which would explain why the Asgardian chose to wear an elegant dress with extra padding and fluff.

Perhaps wearing nothing but armor to an all-day meeting was not the best idea in the world. Maybe it was just her, but the upper castle had colder air than her chambers below… almost as if someone had left a window open all night during winter. Now that she could pay closer attention to the nobles, their clothing was more suited for winter than it was for royal meetings. It was not cold enough to make her teeth chatter, but just enough to distract her mind every now and then.

Standing up from her silver throne, the Queen of Asgard gave the crowd a slight bow and greeted them, "Thank you for accepting my invitation! I'm glad every family head was able to make it today. May Odin forever keep watch over us," Frigga cajoled. With almost 100 families showing up, she was glad Asgard was able to recover its fighting force from their war with Surtr.

'_Forever is a bit of a lo-'_

"Long live the Allfather!" Those echoes were shouted across the hall by every individual.

'_Ahh… Frigga was the hype woman…'_ Toreii noted, unsure if a room of riled-up Asgardians was the best idea. '_There's… a lot of women here…'_ she noted after giving the entire assembly a full scan. Grandmothers, mothers, and daughters exclusively made up the crowd in the room. Even the male Asgardian guards which stood outside were nowhere in sight.

Loki was the only male present.

'_It's a bit of a breast-fest here… Where's Thor?'_

Holding up a gloved hand, Frigga silenced the roar of every noble. "The Allfather shall now hear your concerns," she politely said, turning away from the crowd. Instead of returning to her seat, one of her handmaidens gingerly walked up to the queen with a silver tray filled to the brim with parchment. Breaking the wax seal on the first scroll, she read aloud, "Where is Asgard?" Without missing a beat, Frigga looked intently into the crowd, zoning in on the family who had written the question.

'_That's a good question…'_ Toreii thought to herself. Their guess was just as good as hers at this point. The best answer she could give was somewhere in a New World, but then she would have to explain all the leaves falling off of Yggdrasil. Telling the Asgardians, "The old Tree of Life is dead!" was the last thing she had in mind today. However, after seeing how far her lies got her with the elves, perhaps a half-truth would suffice.

Speaking clear and calm as she practiced, Toreii chose her words carefully, "Asgard is in a safe place."

Before Toreii could continue, Frigga had already broken the seal of another scroll, reading its contents while looking for the family who had sent in the question. "Did something attack Asgard?"

Unsure what to do about the sudden shift, Toreii tried to keep up with the pace, "Yes, a horde of dragons and a hydra-"

"Communication with the other realms has ceased. What does this mean?" Frigga quickly read.

"The other 8 realms… are gone… and so is the world of Asgard. This city is the only thing left of our old world," Toreii explained. Back in Yggdrasil, the entire world of Asgard was open to every Player. It was only this city and Odin's castle which Toreii had exclusively claimed for herself. The secret mines which she farmed Uru-metal from were no longer available, which meant whatever was in her inventory could be the last supply of the ultra-rare metal.

Adjusting her tempo to match her husband's, Frigga continued on, "What has happened to Asgard?"

Thinking over what Vy had told her about the new world, Toreii's best guess was the entire base was transported. However, as far as she knew, the Asgardians were not programmed to know Yggdrasil was nothing more than a game. To everyone here, Yggdrasil was a way of life, which could also be said for her.

Grasping [Gungnir] lightly, she spoke softly to her people, "A new realm has been born… and we are in it now. This world is young — it does not know of Asgardians like the other realms have." Scanning the crowd for their reactions, she glimpsed mixed views: some were shocked, some still processing what they just heard, others lost in thought and staring blankly forward.

First it was whispers throughout the assembly hall, which eventually grew to a loud chatter among the large mob. Frigga, who looked peeved at the disturbance, held back her anger when Toreii let the crowd form their own opinions about the situation. Even Loki seemed unsure what to do about their new predicament.

Allowing herself to lose control of the crowd, she wanted the Asgardians to think for themselves about this New World. She wanted to learn about them, who they were, and why they looked up to her for leadership. Even in peaceful times, Toreii had to remind herself Asgardians were a warrior clan first and politicians second. Æsirs, at the end of the day, were just like the mortals who looked up to them.

Had Toreii actually read the full backstory of Asgard, or even just Frigga's for that matter, her assumption about every Asgardian would be dead wrong. Only the male NPCs were programmed by the devs to be proud warriors, Thor and Baldr included. The entire female population, on the other hand, were leveled and classed in [Political Affiliation] and [Wisdom].

The only exclusion to this general design would be Loki, the Valkyries, and the secret prisoner locked in Odin's basement.

She gave the crowd a look of content. Something was quickly being passed through the crowd. Too fearful to even murmur or whisper, the nobles had passed a new piece of parchment to the front of the room where Frigga was standing. Her handmaiden quickly grabbed the scroll, handing it off to her matriarch.

'_Will you conquer the New World?'_ Frigga read inside of her mind. Making sure her beloved's vision of her was blocked by the scroll, the queen glared directly at the matriarch who wrote it. Standing at row 37, column 17, the family was right where she seated them when sending out the invitations.

'_House Björk. Current head, Eerika. First daughter, Inkeri, second daughter, Brenna,' _Frigga listed off the top of her head. As Queen of Asgard, one of duties was to keep check on the families in Asgard, to make sure _every_ family was able to send a healthy son when Odin called for war.

'_The last war with Surtr…'_ she distinctly remembered, '_Eerika, daughter of Oydis. She lost… 3 sons in that war… and 3 brothers.'_

Asgardians did not mourn the dead like other societies did. The fear of dying without a weapon in hand was the only form of damnation for these families. Yet… Frigga could not bring herself to ignore the last year of her life _with_ her husband. Times have changed, her beloved has changed.

Frigga was not the same woman she was a year ago. She was shown, time and time again, bountiful compassion from a being whom she thought grew apathetic eons ago. The fears of a mother not wanting to lose a son, as her own mother did, was something Frigga knew very well. If not for societal conforms, the matriarchs would shout and cry out the queen had been replaced by an imposter for suggesting that one year was enough evidence to ease their loss of generations.

'_One step at a time,'_ Frigga reminded herself, '_Even if it's just one step today, you're still further than you were yesterday.'_ Many times, Toreii had read self-help books aloud in the presence of Frigga, who had mistaken these quotes as words of wisdom from the all-knowing Allfather.

"Is there a threat of war with Asgard?" Frigga read aloud to the crowd. Asgard needed to know their Allfather had changed for the better, even if it meant angering a few noble families now. Painting Odin as the conqueror he always was was a disservice to who he is now. '_Please forgive me, Oydis. I must once again ask so much of your family.'_

Knowing this question would come sooner or later, Toreii gingerly looked over her court of nobles. Although she wondered where all the male Asgardians went during such an important meeting, it was still quite a sight to see the diversity in every family here. Some had 5 generations of women all standing together, others with several sisters or daughters or granddaughters, but never just a single family head by herself.

"If there are threats, I do not wish for any Asgardians to get involved," Toreii explained. Had the little Deity known more about these NPCs, or was able to read the room better, she would have been able to deduce the strange look every Asgardian gave her. As if their warmonger king had gone senile in his old age, they looked at Toreii in puzzlement and shock.

Continuing her explanation, "Make no mistake, we will defend Asgard, but we will not be the aggressors in this New World. So I must humbly ask all of you to look kindly on these natives."

Frigga could be seen beaming at her beloved, yet right beside her, Loki looked like he had just seen a ghost. "Father, are you well?" The prince frantically asked. The God of Mischief was hearing words from the Allfather which he thought would only be spoken on the king's deathbed.

'_Just peachy… Ahh… Peaches sound really good right about now…'_ Toreii thought to herself, salivating about food already. However, drooling over food in front of hundreds of nobles was the last thing she had in mind today. "I'm perfectly fine, Loki."

The prince thought himself to be inside of a feverish dream, expecting to be woken up any minute now, yet… Here he stood, still clearly awake and bearing witness to the impossible. The **Allfather**, **God of War**, **God of Death**, was _asking_ his subjects to be benevolent, and not the aggressors. Whoever was sitting on Odin's throne was not the father he grew up knowing.

The eyes of every noble ricocheted between their king and his son. They did not know what to believe. Their ears still worked perfectly fine, but what they heard fried their minds. Asgard's status quo was being challenged and done away with, by not only the king who put them in place, but also the queen who enforced it.

Whoever was sitting on that golden throne was not the same man who caused every mother countless sleepless nights, wondering if their son would be the next on the roll call or make it back home. He did not speak like the same man who wiped out almost all of Asgard's populus when he waged war against the World Ender. This Odin was not the same king who wreaked havoc across 9 Realms to prove his superiority complex.

Who was sitting in Odin's throne now, and where was he a millennium ago?

Frigga could barely hold herself back from giving her beloved a hug right then and there, as she watched more nobles send additional scrolls up for her to read.

* * *

**~~~ 3 days later…**

The entire meeting with the nobles had lasted 2.5 days straight, with the last half day ending in a banquet for their families. At first, she was still fine because it ended with a grand feast, yet as the huge crowd of nobles left for dinner, none of her own family members did so. '_Do we have our own dinner to go to?'_ Toreii thought.

What Toreii originally thought was going to be a meeting of several hours became a day long and soon after it became _days_ long. It was a rather unorthodox method to communicate with the nobles than she had expected. Books and shows had always depicted these kinds of meetings to be filled with outlandish nobles which competed for favors with the crown.

Not only were her expectations subverted, but the entire process was just… _different_. Where had all the male Asgardian gone during this time? Was Frigga supposed to be the mediator between the nobles and Odin? It seemed like a flawed system which could lead to bias very quickly inside her mind. The devs had once again left her speechless in their game design.

"Now that the nobles are away, should we begin our own meeting?" Frigga asked without a single hint of sarcasm.

'_We __**are**_ _having dinner, aren't we…?'_ Toreii frantically panicked inside. '_I won't complain about instant ramen anymore! Please… I'll take any options! I'll eat a salad!'_

"Are you not tired, Frigga? Perhaps a quick break? Some nourishment?" Toreii sternly suggested. Inside, she was sweating like she was in the middle of a feverish dream, with doubt starting to set in her empty stomach.

Despite enduring through the entire meeting without rest, Frigga looked as impeccable as when it first started. "Thank you for your concern, my King," the queen reassured with a light bow, "Time spent at your side could never wear me down."

The only other female Æsir nodded her head in agreement with her mother-in-law. Lady Sif stood patiently next to Frigga, eyes wide awake and without any baggage even though both of them have gone days without sleep now. To the Asgardians, a 3-day meeting was nothing compared to a century-long campaign into another realm.

There was no point in pushing the matter. These were hardened veterans in front of Toreii, the same ones who could take on entire guilds and only be mildly annoyed by the inconvenience. Eating was just a formality for the Deity at this point, yet her mental fortitude weakened the longer she went without a warm meal. As if a cosmic entity was working against her to deny every meal, she silently cursed her luck.

"Then… I shall continue with your personal questions," Toreii said, persisting through the imaginary hunger. 3 whole days of being cold, 3 days having to sit in this uncomfortable throne – it was enough to enough to make her go crazy.

Lady Sif cautiously looked to her father-in-law, "Please excuse my ignorance, father. The Odinson… He speaks of things which have caused him and I sleepless nights… My love has been whispering at dusk and dawn about… the end of all 9 Realms… I've had time to think further on what this means. Has… Ragnarok started?"

'_Uh… What was the story of Ragnarok again? Asgardians fight a few raid bosses right? Surtr or something? Maybe I shouldn't have skipped those cutscenes… Ah… I was being too impatient. Can't Thor one-shot Surtr? The guy looks like he benches planets as a warmup…'_ Toreii mumbled inside her head.

With impeccable timing, Heimdall had entered the throne room. "I'm afraid the Odinson's fears are true, Lady Sif," he exclaimed, walking quickly to be by Odin's side. "The Allfather told me himself when I lost vision of the other realms. Ragnarok has indeed begun."

'_When did I ever tell him that? I've talked to him… I don't know… __**twice**__? Did I say something to him? __**Anything?**_' Toreii wondered about the vanguard. Her memory was not the best unless she was specifically committed to remembering it. She was the type of person to derive enjoyment from grinding a dungeon, rather than the story behind its creation.

Every Asgardian present looked shocked amidst their inner thoughts. Slowly, every set of eyes eventually locked onto Loki. The sole Asgardian was quick to notice the shift in the room, as he quickly looked to Toreii for guidance. Frigga, who was unarguably Loki's favored parent, also gave her an endearing look to sort out the situation.

Of course, Toreii was oblivious to it all, still trying to remember bits and pieces of the story behind Ragnarok. As the gears slowly turned inside a clock tower filled with spiders and cobwebs, her mind searched the deepest parts of itself for any clue what they were talking about.

'_There's a snake… or something? Err… Maybe a dog? Something with Surtr? Thor gets a pet dog…? Or was it Loki? Or was it a snake? Loki gets a pet snake? Maybe Loki turns into a snake… but would Thor also turn into a dog? I don't remember at all…' _she silently complained to herself. As if she was caught by a teacher for not paying attention in class, Toreii felt phantom sweat dripping down her forehead.

Lady Sif looked silently from Loki back to her father-in-law, sitting quietly on the golden throne. With Heimdall confirming Ragnarok, she finally understood why her beloved did not elaborate despite the both of them being in their own private chambers. The end of the world would never sit well among a crowd of people, especially among _those_ types. The slightest mention of it, even a slip of the tongue in a passing conversation, would be enough to cause mass hysteria.

Marrying into the royal family was not just about a title and bearing children. Frigga has shown her things which would appall even the most wicked of politicians. Words and resentment were the wedge separating the crown and its subjects, but to see an even darker side to it made it difficult for Lady Sif to sleep at night. The things Frigga had forced these families to do… The things Lady Sif actually knew about… How much the Odinson knew and what she had to keep from him… It made her feel sick to keep her mouth shut.

'_Those stupid devs! Maybe if they didn't make Asgard their dev room, we could have had the end of the story! I have no idea what Ragnarok is because they never programmed it!'_ Toreii remembered, as the last of the cobwebs in her head finally got cleaned out. Despite learning how to read the mood in a room, she never learned to keep paying attention when her thoughts eventually wondered.

"Don't you have something to say to the Allfather, Loki? Surely, you remember the words you said to me? Or has your silver tongue turned to lead?" Heimdall blatantly said to the kneeling prince.

Loki kept his head low with his helmet still on, while Frigga actively gave the vanguard a look which could burn all of Hel.

"Hmm?" Toreii peeped, snapping back to reality. The Asgardian in question gently raised his head to meet her eyes. His face was of confidence, with a bright smile as proof. Still half lost in her thoughts, she accidently said aloud, "Something to do with a snake?"

Everyone all had a confused look on their faces, looking to Toreii for further explanation – all except for Loki, who turned pale as soon as the words left her mouth. His mouth opened and closed repeatedly, as any form of coherent speech left his conscience and ability. She continued to wait for an answer, but the Asgardian seemed like he had just seen a ghost.

'_Did he accidently lose his pet snake? Maybe this was a bad time to bring it up… Ahh… Please forgive me!'_ Toreii silently prayed inside, too embarrassed to say to everyone. During the month-long wait for the noble meeting, Solomon had briefed her on the history of Asgard as well as each individual Asgardians. However, with such a large disparity between her time and these mystical beings, she questioned the validity of the info.

"T-Thank you f-for your patience, Father! As Heimdall said… I humbly wanted to ask you if you wanted to name someone to act in your stead during extended periods of the Odin Sleep. I fear a lack of leadership could lead to mishaps which could have been avoidable," Loki declared, regaining his ability to talk.

'_I thought I could manage these kinds of meetings after learning all of those things from Vy… But these Asgardians meet for too long! Maybe if I just let Frigga take care of things, then she can give me a shorter report…'_ Toreii thought, remembering her original plan. It was a shame to put her efforts to waste, but meetings dragging on for days was not the best use of her time.

"Frigga," she softly addressed, "From now on, every matter in Asgard must go through you first. You have my blessing to do as you see fit. As for you, my children," Toreii looked to them with a stern gaze, "Please listen to your mother."

"Yes, Allfather!" The Asgardians said in unison.

"For the time being, forget about all of this Ragnarok business," she calmly said.

* * *

The king and queen quietly made their way back to their shared bedchamber, after 3 whole days spent dealing with Asgard's political system. Frigga was still in high spirits, eagerly leading Toreii to their bedroom, nothing seemingly able to ever drain her energy reserves. The young Deity, on the other hand, was very much worse for wear.

Had she known at the end of the day the grand feast she was promised was meant only for the nobles, or the fact that the meeting would go on for 3 whole days, she would have just sent Frigga to do all the work from the start. Some parts of the meeting went through one ear and out the other without as much as reaching her mind. She really did try to grasp everything she could, but 3 consecutive days of Q&A was not good for her mental health.

She had been up now for more than 72 hours, and well over a month without proper food. Although she was not racially a zombie, she was ready to drop dead like one. Toreii had personally confirmed her immortal body was capable of literal sun bathing, yet her mind was threatening to engage the blue-screen-of-death any moment now. She was thankful Frigga had offered to walk her back, as she lazily followed behind the Asgardian, hand in hand.

"Thank you for indulging me in my selfish request, my love," Frigga bashfully squealed like a giddy middle-schooler.

"It's quite alright. I'm sorry to have put such a heavy burden on you," Toreii quietly yawned, tears forming on the corners of her eyes. She was still being led by the Asgardian through the quiet halls. Midnight had come quickly, with not even the castle maids walking any hallway. The only noise she could hear were the winds blowing against the castle and the quiet marching from the guards on duty.

Finally reaching their bedchambers, Frigga stood hesitantly outside, firmly holding her beloved's hand. Despite the masquerade she put up in front of her family, the last of today's news left her shaken up inside. Instead of opening the doors to their bedroom, she turned around and lovingly looked her husband in the eyes. "Is it… true… my love? About… Ragnarok?" She whispered through the knot in her dry throat.

'_Ahh… Maybe I should have said something about it earlier…'_ She regretted inside. Although she had some clue as to what Ragnarok was, their guess was just as good as her. The most she knew about Ragnarok was it was the end of an era and the start of a… new beginning… like… _the New World…_

'_Is this the Ragnarok expansion? Am I beta-testing an expansion? Am I still in the game? But… This feels too real to be a game…'_ Toreii's thoughts began wandering again, but mental fatigue did not let her get any further. The Queen of Asgard was still gazing at her, waiting patiently for an answer.

"Would you believe me if I said Ragnarok has already passed?" Toreii questioned, testing the waters.

"A-Already… passed…? I'm afraid I don't understand," Frigga confessed, although her body felt lighter after hearing so.

'_I guess none of them know the aftermath of Ragnarok,'_ Toreii confirmed. Being comfortable enough to not need an act around Frigga, she led them into the bedchamber, making sure to close the doors behind them. "Asgard has survived Ragnarok and this New World was born from the end of the 9 Realms we know," she tried to explain in a way the Asgardian would understand.

Nanami was patiently waiting for her mother's return, standing idly in front of the wooden bed frame. With a bow, she tentatively greeted her real parent, "Welcome back, Mother."

Yellow candle light cast long shadows in the bedroom, which was not a problem for Toreii's [True Vision], yet her daughter's passive stealth skills made the NPC fade in and out of view constantly. "Were you up waiting for me? I'm sorry to make you wait for so long," Toreii apologized as she stumbled forward to the comforts of sleep.

Toreii barely made it 5 steps in before her consciousness faded to the land of dreams, with her body falling forward and her face set to break her fall. Frigga was quick to react before her lover could hit the stone floor, yet Nanami had beaten her to it. Catching the adolescent body of her mother with both arms, Nanami had already put the Deity onto the mattress before the Asgardian had time to react.

Seeing Nanami's speed for the first time surprised Frigga, realizing that perhaps these other children of her beloved did inherit some semblance of his supreme power. Even by Asgardian standards, Nanami was worthy of praise she was reluctant to give. Frigga had not spoken another word to her step-daughter since their first meeting.

The room was quiet, save for Toreii's light snoring and the wind blowing outside. Frigga was still standing near the entrance as she watched Nanami open a nearby cabinet to get the familiar red and white robes Toreii always wore. To the Asgardian, the young girl was like a shadow, with her silhouette the only real thing she could keep track of. Had she not seen Nanami in open lighting first, Frigga would probably never know what the quiet girl looked like.

Realizing conversation would not be a thing unless initiated by herself, Frigga decided she would be the bigger person. "I'm sorry about what I said about you," the queen apologized. She walked quietly to her dresser, trying to not disturb her lover's slumber. Untying the threads keeping her dress together, the corset underneath released her lungs to allow the first full, unrestricted breath of air she had in days.

"Okay," Nanami replied, uninterested, as she finished dressing Toreii back into her robes.

Back into a more comfortable nightgown, Frigga was on the other side of their shared bed. She did not mean for hostility to continue, but there should be a minimum amount of respect between the two. As if an eerie ghost was standing beside her beloved, Frigga wondered who Nanami's other parent was. "Do you hate me?" She asked, trying to remove all bias in her tone.

"Does it matter if I do or don't?" Nanami asked back. Picking up her mother's lonely habits, Nanami found peace in solitude. Watching things from a distance was an enjoyable pastime, but talking with anyone beside her mother or sisters was an annoyance for her.

"I would hate to make my beloved worry about whether we get along," Frigga explained, walking to the other side where Nanami stood. From the architecture of the building the quiet girl had called home, Frigga guessed the other parent must have been from another region in another time, one from long ago and now forgotten.

Although she did not personally care or like the new step-mother she suddenly got, Nanami disdained the thought of ever being cumbersome to her creator. She was indifferent to most things, and with how little time she had to spend with Frigga, she was inclined to be apathetic with her too. However, after seeing how much time Toreii spent with the Asgardian every waking hour, an exception had to be made this single time.

"As long as my Mother is happy, I don't mind what happens between us," Nanami compromised.

Standing a foot away, Frigga was able to get a clear look at her newest daughter. At half at her height, Nanami's deep purple eyes were very calm and collected, a stark contrast to the raging storms which she was used to seeing in Thor. Lady Sif was her daughter-in-law, but their relationship was purely formal, public or private. However, just like her beloved, Nanami had not the slightest care for titles or formality.

Looking over her new daughter again, there was a cuteness in her young face and sleek, dark green hair. "I would like to start over, if you don't mind," she suggested, kneeling down to be on the same eye level as Nanami. "I'm Frigga, Queen of Asgard, and Wife of Odin."

Her cream colored hand reached out to Nanami, which the girl only stared at, unsure of how to continue. Frigga, who normally would feel offended when her greeting was rejected, knew better than to hold it against the quiet, reclusive girl standing with a confused look all over her face. Gently grabbing hold of Nanami's right hand, the girl's skin was soft and warm as Frigga held it with both her own. She saw neatly trimmed nails and a healthy pink palm, which was normally hidden away in the long sleeves of the monk robes. Having raised 3 sons and gaining a fully grown daughter-in-law, her maternal mind wondered what it would have been like to raise an actual daughter from birth.

"Can you tell me your name?" Frigga politely asked, pretending like it was their first time meeting.

"N-Nanami," she quietly answered, unused to physical affection.

"Nice to meet you, Nanami. You're a very pretty girl," Frigga said with a smile.

Beside them, Toreii snoozed away without a care in the world in blissful sleep.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry this took so long, I didn't mean for it to, but I wanted the follow up chapter to this to be finished before I put it out. Please tell me if you have a preference between Toreii's NPCs and the Asgardians for future chapters.


	11. Chapter 11 - The Odinson

**\- 1 month ago**

Loki, in his eon of planning, had met with every matriarch from every noble family every night for several generations, earned favors with their husbands, brothers, and fathers ― but most importantly, he had brought the Odinson to his side. Yet, his stream of good fortune had only just started. The Allfather had transported Asgard away with the [Bifrost], but he left himself behind amidst the mass teleportation.

The emerald prince briskly walked through the castle halls, watching as servants, guards, and Valkyries alike were all in a panic, all rushing to Heimdall's call _en masse_. For the very first time in Asgardian history, the Allfather was fighting alone, which was an opportunity the second son could not pass up.

Cold, bleak stone doors stared back at him with as much ferocity as has ambitions. He found himself in a once-in-a-lifetime chance, right in front of the entrance of the treasury without a single guard in sight. Every door below the main floor within Odin's castle was enchanted to not open unless given explicit permission by the Allfather himself, but the deviant god found a loophole in his father's all-powerful magic.

Odin, in all his arrogance, never expected outsiders to be able to make it all the way through to his castle, thus only enchanting these doors against other Asgardians. Many nights were spent by Loki trying different things, different items, even different kinds of magic to see if he could ever outwit a being who was a self-proclaimed omniscient. Countless failed trails later, the devious prince had found his answer after talking with a local locksmith in town.

_Most_ doors only locked from the outside, to keep unwanted intruders out and to let anyone on the inside exit whenever they so wish. Even the almighty Allfather enjoys this leisure, as a crack of yellow light slowly peaked out from the doors opening inward. Loki's smile stretched from one cheek to another, as a school boy's delight filled his heart. On the other side of the double doors was a tiny snake, barely reaching above his knee caps, but was grateful to see his master once again.

Eagerly slithering towards his 'father', the itty-bitty 'World Serpent' coiled itself around Loki's arms as he bent down to pick up his cohort-in-thievery. He had finally made it inside of the sacred treasure room… no, _Odin's_ treasure room. Millenia of wars across the 9 Realms had ensured the Allfather had stockpiled not only the rarest of treasures, but also things of great power, sealed away to never see the light of day again. There was a single mystical item the God of Mischief was after ― a sword so powerful, it had completely drained the Allfather of all of his strength, and left the king in a semi-permanent Odin Sleep in order to regain any semblance of his once-great prowess the last time he wielded it.

The great treasury was filled with shelves upon shelves of Uru metal, which was once the rarest metal exclusive to the world of the dwarves, but this exclusivity was transferred to Asgard soon after Odin secured his rule over the 9 Realms. Rows upon rows of wooden shelves filled with neatly-stacked grey ingots, which Loki could only assume was meant to fuel his father's next war.

Like an optical illusion, he thought he was looking through an infinite mirror, since the amount of Uru metal in sight was practically endless, as if Odin had left nothing left in Niðavellir. It truly seemed like several mines' worth of the precious metal was excavated and stored away here. Had Loki not noticed the ceiling, he would've assumed this room expanded to infiniteness, and not have been able to see the other side of the secret treasure room.

Although there were 9 Realms' worth of treasure here, the space Odin had set aside for his conquests was not as big as the prince thought. With as big of an ego he inherited, Loki expected entire floors dedicated to each realm from his father. Instead, everything Odin deemed of value was closed off from the rest of the world, which Loki summarized was due to the growing paranoia the King of Asgard had for his bloody rule.

Searching endlessly throughout all of Asgard, Loki had crossed off all possible places the King of Asgard could have hidden away his greatest adversary's weapon. Since the treasury was only accessible by Odin himself, the prince guessed _that_ was the most likely place, and after seeing the treasures the Allfather had hidden away, his confidence only grew tenfold.

The sacred sword which not only left his father near enough a permanent cripple, but also nearly wiped out every Asgardian in the process.

Loki was looking for [Rungnir], Surtr's demonic hell sword which was made from the same star as Odin's holy spear, [Gungnir]. Never once had the prince seen Odin feared his own mortality like that time, but it was justly deserved given how arrogant and pathetic he was in the final siege against the hell giant. Knowing how paranoid his father grew after killing the [World Ender], perhaps merely seeing the sword would cause enough grief for the Allfather to give up his throne.

After spending countless winters with Odin under his imposed peace throughout the 9 Worlds, Loki could not help but feel pity for the aging cripple. Peace through absolute might was nothing more than a dictatorship ― but to most, it was peace nonetheless. Not wanting to start his legacy the same way his father did and most likely plunge Asgard into a civil war, Loki sought out [Rungnir] to threaten Odin, and Odin alone.

Hearing the stories of his fellow Asgardians, whether it was from a mother or father, brother or sister ― there was always someone missing from the family. Until _very_ recently, every matriarch buried their father, brothers, and sons, the cycle continuing until Odin was sure everything who _could_ threaten his rule no longer had the means to do so. The Allfather had even gone so far as to create a religious reason for their sacrifices, to ease their pain of lost ones by imbuing them with a sense of honor of death in battle.

There was no honor in purposely causing a mother's grief.

Passing rows upon rows of Uru ingots, entire shelves were dedicated to housing the ultra-rare metal. Upon getting further into the treasury, he finally started seeing weapons from the other realms. He quickly made his way through the narrowing hallway filled with every kind of weapon, be it spears, bows, crossbow, lance, sword, or axes, but every one of them were categorized by rarity and special enchantments.

The further he went, the rarer the material and the higher their respective previous owners' ranks. Finally, near the end of the hallway, his eyes were instantly drawn to the carefully chiseled statues of ancient Asgardian warriors.

It seems that when Odin left the other realms, he not only left them ravaged and starved of any precious resources, but he took trophies from those he conquered.

The first statue was clearly from his time 'negotiating' with the dwarves, as per the label. The warhammer of the previous dwarf king, [Heat of Niðavellir], made of not just precious Uru metal, but also naturally forming crystals which could only be found in the core of their world. The handle was carefully hammered only by the cleanest craftsmanship, with quality beyond even Asgardian handiwork, which enwrapped a beautiful blue crystal with huge blunt ends on both sides.

From the last elf king, Odin was 'gifted' with the national treasure from their royal capital… so 'peace' among their worlds may continue. The Álfheim statue had two open palms which securely held a golden scepter, the [Peaceful Reign], which was supposed to symbolize elves' continued alliance with the Asgardians.

The other worldly treasures were… _missing?!_

Cold sweat started pouring down Loki's head and back, fearful of his entire lifetime of planning coming apart at the seams. Only the Allfather could access this treasury, but most importantly, Odin had secured himself almost all of the world treasures of the other realms, not including his very own holy spear. It seemed even in his crippled state and aging mind, he was still prepared enough to know to stash these sacred items on his person.

Without [Rungnir], negotiations with the Allfather would almost certainly fail, as the only threatening bargaining chip he thought he would score was now squarely on the other side of the table. Loki's mind racked itself into overdrive, quickly coming up with different outcomes, given the giant hole in his flopping masterpiece. He had done so much, gone so far as to break into the treasury during a state of emergency; there would be no going back for him now.

Running on such a precious, narrow time window, he looked at the two treasures still left. Seeing as the war hammer would not be of much use to him, he grabbed the scepter and looked to the final statue at the end of the hallway. Where he assumed would be the resting place for both [Rungnir] and [Gungnir] was predictably incomplete, as the statue had both hands grasping only air, with something clearly missing.

Unlike the other statues, the one representing Asgard was clad in Odin's personal war armor.

From top to bottom, the golden armor shone a mystic blue even under the crimson torchlight. Nordic runes were etched into every surface, from the helmet down to the boots, periodically glowing. The last time Loki saw the armor, it had withstood 3 whole strikes from the [World Ender]'s full might. Not only was Odin pushed to his limit that day, but the Allfather bled in battle for the first time. The prince understood that day, his father was just as mortal as any other man.

As he was already a thief and a traitor to the crown, he showed no hesitation moving toward the armor and dismantling it from the statue. He had very little time remaining, knowing the head vanguard of Asgard, Heimdall, would soon suspect why the second prince was not with everyone else. If he had to choose, Loki'd put his money on Odin having better defensive magic than Heimdall's cosmic sight.

Now with the scepter and Odin's armor stored in his inventory, Loki quickly made for the exit, firmly grasping the World Serpent. There might be other valuable treasures here, but leaving any trace of his presence would blow his plans apart before he could launch his great uprising. The mountain of Uru was left untouched, with Loki closing the stone doors right behind on his way out.

* * *

Back in the sanctity of his secret abode, the God of Mischief was pacing back and forth in his private room. Jörmungandr silently watched his father in deep thought, as the World Serpent coiled on himself to gather more warmth on the hardwood counter. He was allowed to roam free when his father visited, but he simply liked finding a warm spot to be in and watch Loki at work instead.

Drowning out everything else in the small room, the prince buried himself in his own thoughts, but was mindful enough to watch out for the furniture as he walked back and forth endlessly like an ouroboros. Right beside him, in a makeshift armor stand made of sticks he found, was Odin's war armor, [Pride and Prejudice], softly glowing with magic. The scepter was not far away, as the golden staff was leaning against the stone walls just another relic of the past it now was.

Having come so far in his plans to dethrone the Allfather, he often found himself in the 'And then what?' phase quite often nowadays. It was getting harder and harder to follow a carefully-laid plan, since he had to improvise on the spot many times. However, it was not like he had left the treasury with nothing. Odin's armor was still Odin's armor, which he had personally seen withstand the might of [Rungnir]. Except, without the sword also in his possession, there was a greater amount of uncertainty when the inevitable exchange of power would occur.

The announcement of a meeting with the Allfather had not surprised him in the slightest. Seeing as how hectic and on edge every Asgardian was at the activation of the [Bifrost], Loki had been feeding their fear and suspicion. More or less, he was rocking the boiling pot of resentment the matriarchs of Asgard had for war.

Never once had the [Bifrost] been used on the entire city, only for transporting Asgardians in and out of the other realms. After its activation, it was the talk of the entire city, from commoner to the nobles ― everyone had come up with their own reason for why it was used. As for Loki, he quickly started spreading the rumor of Odin preparing for another conquest.

Every family knew what happened the last time the [Bifrost] was used. Only 10,000 men and Valkyries returned from Odin's fight with Surtr, as everyone else just became a name on a memorial rock. For Asgard to lose almost a million of its fighting force as nothing more than fodder, the ideal image of the perfect Allfather was gone forever in the eyes of the grieving families.

All Loki had to do was remind everyone of their resentment, and everything else would fall into place. Each day, he would publicly meet with noblemen, offering drinks and conversing about a potential campaign in the upcoming future. By nightfall, after conducting dinner services with the families, he would speak privately with the matriarchs, confirming their fears with hapless stories from his 'sources'.

The title of prince had granted him the status of inside information from the crown itself, which every family head took in as gospel, as he continued to reaffirm their worst nightmares. Had Odin not set up restrictions in top-down information flow, Loki would not have been able to spread his propaganda as well as he was. The very infrastructure the king installed would be learned and utilized very effectively by his very own upriser, as the paranoia of an absolute ruler would always be the chains they tied their nooses from.

Once the dust had settled and Odin was dethroned, he thought long and hard about who would ascend to become the new Allfather. Although he considered himself to be _the_ prime candidate, Loki suspected he would not gain many backings from the warrior Asgardians. In the eyes of the public, his brother must ascend, as Thor Odinson _must_ become the next Allfather for true peace to be achieved.

The second prince, for the longest time, held a deep, jealous grudge for the favorite son of Asgard. As time droned on and campaigns drew out, Loki grew to hate his past self for ever wanting any kind of approval from his father. He grew to loathe the name of Odinson and refused to be associated with it. Against Surtr, the [World Ender], he bore witness first-hand to Odin sending his own wife to die on the front lines, rather than leading the charge himself. From that day forward, he swore he would only accept his own mother's love.

Even for the fortunate ones who did survive, the lives they led afterwards was one filled with misery and hellish agony. The mystical 'Valhalla' was the only consolation for the families left to grieve, but Loki was sure they would rather have their sons, brothers, and fathers than to have whatever honor and mythical place Odin spoke about.

To think that despite his best efforts, Loki would never surmount to the greatest propaganda machine Asgard had ever heard of: _Valhalla._

Still, Loki was as patient as he was crafty. If it meant waiting for another century or so, then he would bide his time until then. Without Surtr's sword, Loki did not have the means to overpower the Allfather, let alone convince the nobles to agree to his coup d'état against the longest reigning king. However, the one silver lining to this was he knew for a fact his father was left too crippled and weakened to wield the cursed sword, and his own holy spear was nothing more than a crutch now for the ailing king.

"I will do what I must, Father," Loki promised himself. He would show every noble concrete evidence of Odin's apathy during the meeting; only then could he advance his own plans.

* * *

**\- After the meeting**

"**IMPOSTER!"**

**\- Boom-Thud-Thud-Thud!**

**\- *huff…*huff…*huff…***

Veins bulged against his temples.

His heart ached against his chest, beating faster and faster in his ears.

Hot sweat ran down his forehead and coated his palms.

The secret underground room was a mess; shelves of books were thrown down and their contents spilled onto the ground. Broken glass was scattered across the ground, which made it difficult for Jörmungandr to move around. The tiny snake kept to a single corner of the room, laying low, watching a new side to his usually calm and collected father.

His throat was hot and dry, as unsteady breaths continued to exist as the only sound within the room.

What was meant to be the start of the downfall of the longest ruling dictatorship was now so far away. Everything was going as planned, even down to the questions he expected the nobles to ask, but the reaction and answers Odin provided were far beyond even what he considered outliers.

Everyone of importance was at the meeting today, all except for _his father._

There was no conceivable way he was possibly found out… at least until his father mentioned Jörmungandr in passing. He considered every possible way his plan could have gone awry, but only a few stuck out to him, given the way Odin acted today.

…and to be honest, he only really believed in one: his father had been replaced by someone else, but that would require enough magical prowess to fool even Heimdall. Despite his strong dislike for the stiff vanguard, Loki had to admit the cosmic sight the watchmen wielded saw beyond any form of trickery possible.

The odds of an imposter fooling all of Asgard, including Heimdall, was none. The fact not only was the [Bifrost] activated, but [Gungnir] was also by his father's side, both combined to show there was no possible way someone else could fake the same authoritative powers over Asgard. Collecting his thoughts, Loki concluded his father was still there, albeit not the Odin he remembered for so long.

The second theory he crafted was Odin knew all along about his coup. If the Allfather knew about Jörmungandr, then he must also know about Loki storming the treasury for the other realms' treasures. Following that line of thought, the only possible reason the prince could come up for Odin acting un-Odin like today was to completely shut down all the progress he had built up with the nobles over the decade.

There might be a few veteran families who would complain about the lack of upcoming combat, but the majority of them would be going home for a restful sleep for the first time in centuries. Everything Loki had promised his people had been made a reality by the person they conspired against. Loki was dropped by the wayside, as the Asgardians completely forgot about the second prince as soon as they heard the sweet, impossible words coming out of their Allfather's mouth.

As expected, Loki would never have gotten the backing of any noble family. It seems a diplomatic approach would never suffice under the rule of Odin. Years of effort and planning went down the drain, all because Odin saw fit to personally humiliate Loki on the inside. The Allfather must have seen everything the God of Mischief was doing from the very beginning, waiting for this specific meeting to pounce.

It was the only conceivable reason for what happened to today, and the only logical excuse Loki could come up with to keep his sanity. Perhaps trying to fight omnipotence was his folly from the very start, but to think the cripple would be greater in knowledge and wisdom after his debilitating fight to the death… Loki did not know what to do next, or what his father had in store for him after such treacherous actions had been made apparent between the two.

He was back to the question where all of his plans eventually ended.

"...and then what?"

* * *

The second prince found his brother right where he left him: in a bar, drinking on Loki's tab. Despite the outcome of today's meeting, Loki still had a last gambit of sorts in the form of the favored Odinson. Even though there was still some of those rooted jealousy he used to have, Thor was still the dependable older brother Loki grew to… _tolerate_.

The merry oaf was at his favorite local tavern, despite being allowed to request any amount and every kind of liquor he so desired for _**free**_ back in their castle. Despite their lavish allowances, Thor's chosen drinking spot did not reflect his status as heir to Odin in the slightest. It was not like the place was in shambles and was about to cave in at any moment, but it simply lacked any form of sophistication other than the basic necessities.

Due to the national meeting, many Asgardians were given the last 3 days off, which would explain why the inside of the tavern was deserted. All the tables were cleaned with chairs stacked on top, and the only attendee was sitting by his lonesome at the bar counter. The greying barkeep was kept busy hauling entire barrels of ale in each arm.

Clearly, even though Thor's the sole customer, the mighty God of Thunder was drinking his entire stock.

"Loki!" A cherry-faced Thor greeted, swinging away from his chair and spilling some ale onto the ground. "Have you come to share a drink with me, finally? Come! Come! The ale tastes better with good company!" Thor beckoned.

Normally, he would pass on the invitation and would solely come here to bring the drunkard home, but after the twisted game he was made to play by Odin, a drink did not sound bad in the slightest. Hanging his outer coat on a nearby rack, Loki eagerly took a seat beside his battle-hardened brother for a pitcher or two.

"Has the meeting already passed, Loki? Awfully quick this time around, hmm? Or have you snuck out just to have a drink with your favorite brother?" Thor joked as he continued to permeate the air with his alcoholic breath.

The barkeep immediately poured ale into a wooden mug for the second prince, but when he brought it up for a taste test, it _definitely_ tasted as good as it cost… which was dirt cheap. For someone like Loki, wine imported from Álfheim was the minimum bar he was willing to imbibe, but just for today, drowning out his thoughts with cheap alcohol was a pleasant plan.

"The meeting ended about an hour ago," Loki answered. He took the first swig of the ale, but all he tasted was a grainy, watered-down version of what he expected; still, the flavor was not terrible enough to make him gag. How Thor was red in the face from drinking such a terrible beverage was a mystery to him, but then again, his brother has been drinking for the last 3 days straight. Wishing he had something more flavorful to clean his palate, he wondered how this establishment was still in business.

"Such a short meeting! Maybe Sif can give me an even shorter version when I get home," Thor laughed. Bottoming out his pitcher of ale, the Odinson let out a longing sigh after chugging down the rest of his drink.

Eyeing his glass of ale as if the hops in it were still germinating, the second prince turned to face his warrior brother. "Have you considered…" Loki began, but dropped his tone to a whisper after seeing the barkeep was still there, "...have you considered my proposal?"

"Your ***hicc*** proposal…? OH! Errr…" The joyful outburst Thor showed earlier simmered down as his mind tried to process his slowed thoughts. "I haven't given it much thought… ***hicc* **since Sif is still learning how to be Mother's proxy. And also… ***hicc*** Father is in great health and I get to pass my days drinking; it's a peaceful time."

"I'm just worried about Father's health, is all," Loki calmly answered back. The barkeep was already filling another jug for the Odinson and too occupied to pay much attention to the second prince. "The Odin Sleep grows longer every winter," he whispered somberly, "I think because it is peaceful that it is the best time for a changing of the guard. All of Asgard regard you as a champion among champions already."

"Hmm," Thor grunted through the mug he was drinking from, "Maybe… But I am still the _Odinson_."

"No need to be too humble, Brother," the God of Mischief cajoled. Hoping the alcohol in Thor's system was giving him new inhibitions, Loki began soothsaying, "I think the title "Allfather Thor, King of Asgard" fits you better." The barkeep's eyes rightfully shot a glare over to the second prince, but he ignored it to continue with building his brother's fake confidence. "You would have my wholehearted support."

"Allfather… Thor…" the God of Thunder repeated. He held his drink steady in his hand, letting the weight of those words linger for a bit in his mind. Gently setting down his drink, Thor closed his eyes to let his thoughts wander.

Smiling from cheek to cheek, Loki was pleased with his ingenious backup plan. Although he would not directly become the King of Asgard, as long as Odin's tyrannical regime was toppled and the old king rendered powerless, he would be satisfied. "Perhaps not anytime soon, but I am eagerly awaiting your coronation day. Father would be proud to have you become his successor."

A brief pause passed with more silence from the Odinson, as Loki patiently waited to hear his brother's conviction for the throne. Several more minutes silently passed following that, giving the second prince worry about whether he had overstepped his bounds this time around. Trying to follow Thor's line of sight, all he saw were the closed eyes of someone deep in thought. Panic began spreading inside of Loki's heart, believing his brother had finally wisened up to what the mischievous Asgardian was up to all along, just like their father.

**\- *SNORE*SNORE*SNORE***

A violent, deep snore erupted from Thor in the middle of their conversion, causing Loki to jump back startled. The second prince gently grasped where his heart is, feeling the accelerated beats from the sudden jolt to his being. There was too much going on today for his poor heart to handle anymore, and it looked like any progress for his future plans might've been slept off by his aloof brother.

Before he could even finish his sigh of disappointment, the barkeep slid a slip of parchment Loki's way. A quick glance at it made him regret it instantly, as he read the giant, long number totaled at the very bottom of the note. The tavern keeper held out his hand, staring sternly at the second prince as he waited for the royal family to pay their dues.

Loki stared aghast at the bill presented to him. Not only had the Odinson drunk enough ale to sustain a small army for _several sieges_, but the reason there was only cheap alcohol left was because Thor had drunk all the expensive stuff on the first day. Staring back at the barkeep, Loki's mouth opened and closed several times as he tried to find his voice, "Oh… I… Uh… Well you see… Ummm… Hmmm… Do you offer a frequent drinker discount?"

* * *

It was one thing to carry a chunk of armor and muscle with booze oozing out with every loud snore the latter made; it was another to make Loki foot the bill and be the one to carry said drunkard home. To think the same God of Mischief who was planning everything around Thor now had nothing to show for it made Loki think _hard _about his life choices up until this moment. In his infinite wisdom, he had refused to buy the wheelbarrow the bartender offered, but now, every step forward made him consider if it was too late to go back on his words.

Nightfall quickly set, nearly blinding the second prince due to his poorly developed navigational skills. By the time he had made it back to the castle, Lady Sif was waiting by the front gate with a lantern in tow. Dripping with sweat from carrying the 'living siege machine', he did not care in the slightest about his image when the upcoming princess effortlessly lifted her blackout drunk husband with a single arm.

"Thank you for returning my beloved Thor, Loki," Sif said with a respectful bow.

Slumping onto the ground like his body was made completely of liquid, his heavy breathing turned into shallow wheezing to try to catch his breath. Their trip from the tavern to the castle was barely an hour long by foot for an ordinary Asgardian, but Loki was _not_ the average Asgardian. Unable to form any coherent speech in-between each wheeze, the second prince merely waved his hand and hoped it was polite enough.

"Will you be needing any help, Prince Loki?" Sif offered in good gesture.

Every inch of sore, untrained muscle told him to accept the offer, but he was not yet that desperate to forgo all of his dignity. At the very least, he accepted Sif's help to get him back on his feet, but the sudden rush of blood made him faint for several seconds. The pit of his stomach threatened to upchuck the half glass of ale he begrudgingly paid for, but he was able to force it down just in time.

Loki's heaving chest was hot and sticky from all the sweat his clothes accumulated, for which he was thankful for having worn darker shades. Of all the male Asgardians, only Loki could bring the standard mean down for athleticism of the entire warrior race. Although he was brilliant in his own right, his wisdom was clearly not up to par, or else he would have purchased the wheelbarrow over skimping on a few extra gold pieces.

Finally regaining enough air to stand upright without sounding like a hyperventilating school girl, his dripping sweat had now turned cold in the night, sending chills down his back. Trying to reobtain his princely charm, he gave Lady Sif a sly smile, but carrying Thor back had disheveled his hair. "Good to see you again. I didn't think we'd run into each other so soon," Loki greeted.

"Yes… Well… I kind of live here now," the first princess reminded him.

"Right! Of course! F-Forgive me. It's just… been a long day," Loki admitted with a sigh.

"Ahh, I understand," Sif said, nodding her head in agreement, "Although I have learned much from Queen Frigga, today was an experience I don't think is teachable through words alone."

Not wanting to keep all of them out in the cold, Loki gestured toward the castle entrance. Walking in stride with the married couple, he felt like the odd one out next to the two warriors; one was the hero of Asgard and the other an ex-Valkyrie. "Yes… Today was… _different_ than what I expected…" he said as they walked back into the warmth of the castle.

"Indeed. I had not expected the Allfather to be so kind and benevolent," Sif admitted. Her perception of the God-King was a man too powerful to understand the woes of his serfs, yet after meeting Odin in person, she was quite ashamed she ever thought of her king in such a negative way. There were many rumors about Odin's disconnect with the Æsirs he ruled, but today proved the falsehood of such dangerous rumors.

"Yes… Quite unexpected," Loki mumbled. He shook his head in disbelief at how a single day was enough to ruin several years' worth of effort, but more importantly, how easily all his work was cast away by the charming words the nobles desperately wanted to hear from their tyrant king. There was no cure for mob mentality, and as soon as Odin dangled what they wanted in front of them, there was nothing else Loki could do.

"He seems a bit different than what his reputation precedes him, no?" Loki asked, gingerly dancing around the subject to the next Queen of Asgard. "Surely someone who is able to defeat the [World Ender] must be more… destructive? Us Asgardians might not see it this way, but there might be others out there who view Odin as _their_ [World Ender]."

Looking down onto the ground, Sif's body automatically walked forward without bumping into anything while her mind mused over the second prince's words. When she was indoctrinated into the Valkyries, the only enemies she was to worry about were the ones the Allfather declared. Under the tutelage of Frigga, Sif learned to expand her view while still being dutiful to her kingdom. It was only after Loki brought it up did she consider what outsiders view Asgardians to be.

"I do see the demerits of it; we Asgardians are warriors after all. If the Allfather was to command us to march into a new campaign tomorrow, I do not see anyone putting up protest against it," Sif agreed. She was no stranger to the long wars across the 8 other realms, as well as defending against invaders in her own home. "However, just because the Allfather can, doesn't mean that he will. The blood shed yesterday means there will be less blood shed tomorrow."

Loki admitted there was some truth behind what Lady Sif was trying to argue. If it were anyone else, he could be persuaded to believe as much, but the decision to start the killing was ultimately Odin's to make. The father whom Loki had grown to expect was a warmonger first and a king last.

For now, laying the seeds of doubt was enough for him. Asgard's newest power couple would be his ticket to dethroning the monster which sat on the golden throne. There would be some bloodshed with this plan, but it was Odin who took Surtr's sword to begin with. If the Allfather truly believed in peace, he would have kept the weapon completely sealed away, even from himself. Loki knew he was justified in plotting his own father's downfall.

"It is as you say," Loki said with a smile.

* * *

**A/N:** I hope the time skips was not too confusing. Did you enjoy Loki's antics? Was he too serious? Please tell me how you would like Loki to play this one out. Also, sorry for the wait.


	12. Chapter 12 - Vy's Misadventure, Part 1

After Toreii left, Vy was uncomfortable being left alone with her new guardian. The ancient elf, Viridi, just gave off a strange vibe which caused alarm bells ringing madly inside her mind. She passed the thought as nothing more than jitters from being in the presence of a literal god ― her race's progenitor, even ― but deep down, she was still worried about her own safety. Even if Viridi was technically _just_ a demigod, the powers of a true immortal flowed within her veins.

With no concept of time beside what Viridi declared it as when asked, the elven princess slowly made her way back to her new sleeping chambers within the Parthenon. The stone beneath her feet was always warm to the touch no matter where she went, which explained why the ancient elf preferred to go barefoot. The other adult and child elves which escaped with her had grown to call this place their home, causing Vy to once again feel indebted to Toreii. These feelings lingered the longer she stayed here, at the home of a God, but with nowhere else to go, she tried her best to be at least useful.

Seeing the Parthenon for the first time, she had mistaken it to be smaller than her elven castle. After seeing the underground area, it turned out to be quite spacious despite how little room it seemed to occupy, almost as if the creator tried to maximize whatever space was available. Each tunnel led to a designated room, but as she had learned, these tunnels shifted and changed as if the entire building was alive and had a mind of its own.

Truly, this could only be the home of a God. Decorations and themes she'd never seen before; material she'd never heard, much less touched; furniture with functionality so abstract they could only come from an inhuman mind.

"Princess Vy," Viridi called from behind the young elf.

"Ah! Forgive me! I didn't hear you," Vy said, quickly turning around and bowing.

Smiling as she always does, Viridi gave a bubbly giggle at the worried elfling. "I only called you once. There is no need to fret. Forgive me for startling you."

Although there was kindness to the words she was hearing, Vy knew better than to let her guard down around someone with a dragonkin for a _maid_. Only a god could possibly have a dragon-descendant be their personal servant. "How may I be of service, Lady Viridi?"

"It's perfectly fine to call me just 'Viridi'. Titles should always be reserved for the highest authority, like my mother," the ancient elf assured.

The demigod could say these kinds of things as much as she wanted, but Vy knew better than anybody to drop the formality. The difference in attitude between mother and daughter was like night and day. Toreii was callous and indifferent about what she was called, but Viridi would always make sure formality was lavished to her mother, despite the deity's wishes.

"If you don't mind, I would like to still continue calling you Lady Viridi," Vy answered.

Shaking her head as if she was dealing with a bothersome child, Viridi accepted the princess's mental need to stay formal. "If that is your wish, then so be it," she softly replied.

"Thank you for putting up with my selfishness," Vy said, keeping her head bowed.

"How about we call it even if you can indulge me in my own selfish request?" Viridi coyly replied, seizing the opportunity.

Realizing she had very little reason not to, she had to at least hear what this goddess wanted from her. "I will give my best effort to accomplish whatever task you ask. Might I ask what you seek from me?"

Closing the distance between them, Viridi gently touched the young elf's shoulder to signal the girl to raise her head. Sensing Vy's body stiffening immediately in response, the ancient elf wondered what was troubling the child so much. "Would you kindly accompany me to my room? I'd like to know you better."

"T-To… your r-room?" Vy repeated, frantically thinking of reasons to decline immediately.

Without waiting for a proper answer, Viridi warmly smiled at the young elf and gingerly grabbed hold of the child's petite hand. As an eldest sister, she knew better than to allow a hesitant child time to make excuses. Walking slowly toward the end of the tunnel, Viridi's other hand touched the stone wall along the way.

A golden sigil magically came to life on the back of Viridi's hand, and the tunnels suddenly rumbled to life, its solid rock surface shaking mildly, as if the entire pathway was moving. Behind them, should be the original walkway back to the main level of the Parthenon, rotated like chambers in a cylinder. What was once an open stairway changed to an arched doorway, closed off by what seemed to be ornate angelic wings.

Vy had unknowingly clung onto the demigod's body for dear life, but quickly sprung away when she realized _whom_ she was practically groping. Although she tried to move away from the ancient elf, Viridi still had a firm grip of the princess's hand and led her toward what could be a ritualistic sacrificial pit for all she knew.

"Being afraid won't get you any closer to learning 5th-Tier spells," Viridi reminded the young elf, not even bothering to look back.

It was quite the obvious taunt from Vy's perspective, but she sensed no malicious desires in the words spoken to her. What the ancient elf said was true, in that she was too afraid of what gods had to do in order to achieve higher tiers of magic no mortal had ever seen before. The thought frightened her, and dearly so, knowing this kind of knowledge could kill even a mighty dragon ― nay, _dragons_. A small voice in the back of her mind kept telling her to walk away ― that the price of knowledge, especially godly knowledge, might rid her of her humanity.

Before she could voice her objections, the muscles in the young elf's arms and legs went limp. Her eyes started to blur in a grey haze as her consciousness went away helplessly. She realized now why the sweet aroma around the ancient elf was different than usual. Just as her face was about to complete the quick journey to the hard stone below, Viridi held the young elf's body away from staining Toreii's nice floors with fresh blood.

Carrying Vy with both arms like the princess she was, Viridi continued towards her private bedroom. Throughout the entire Parthenon, a curfew had been enforced, meaning the hallways were quiet enough to hear one's own heartbeat and breath. Vy's panicked, shallow breaths became long with brief pauses in between, which meant the ancient elf's magic had taken full effect. The child in her arms was in deep sleep, which was the first requirement for the long and arduous procedure she was about to perform.

Finally reaching the 'door', it was not made of stone like the rest of the Parthenon. Instead, each of the Noble Sisters had specially dedicated rooms for each of them, designed and crafted by the blood, sweat, and tears of their beloved single mother. The entrance of Viridi's room was made of angelic wings like her own, with dozens of them interlocked together to form a door. As she drew nearer, each separate wing unfurled itself to form a circular gateway which Viridi was able to step through.

Unlike the grey and symmetrical theme the entire Parthenon was designed with, Viridi's room could be described as an arboretum. Although she did not mind walking on the self-heating stone bricks, she felt more relaxed with her bare feet back on soft soil. Despite the heavenly theme her door suggested, the ancient elf was most at home among her plants. The entirety of her spacious room was like an orchid field, with bushes and trees of every kind neatly placed to give every individual plant enough room and sunlight to grow. Just like the roof of the Parthenon, Viridi's private room was more or less a giant forest biome with an artificial sun above it.

A lone dirt path cut through the fortress of trees and vines, which few beings knew the proper way without becoming lost when _not _going through said road. Continuing on the soft earth below, Viridi listened attentively to the living plants around her while also keeping check of the unconscious princess's heartbeat. At such a young age and with such a light body, the ancient elf had to make sure the dosage of her sleep aroma was not enough to induce a permanent coma.

Briskly strolling through the trees, Viridi did not have to weave through them, as all the trees leant out of her way when she approached. Actively watching out for her, they were happy now she was back. From an outsider's perspective, her home would amount to nothing more than a forest inside of a stone building, but there was a distinct difference from her forest and every other one: The only sounds permeating throughout the faux forest was a quiet gust of wind. There were no animals here, solely flora.

Although there was nothing but the sleeping princess's soft heartbeat sound in Viridi's ears, the ancient elf 'listened' to her plants in a different manner, one her mother had specially gifted her eldest daughter. The deity had created Viridi from a fragment of the Tree of Life itself ― specifically, one of Yggdrasil's roots.

Originally, Toreii meant to utilize the greatest artifact she had in her possession to attempt a controlled inheritance of its properties to Viridi. However, an expected consequence from this was the ancient elf's affinity for all plant life in her immediate vicinity. At the time, Toreii did not know if these special abilities would be beneficial or not, thus causing her to cease all further experiments she planned for the mystical tree until she fully understood her daughter.

Originally, the elf's room was to be a plant observatory, meant for growing materials for craftable equipment and food for Toreii's use. However, as soon as Viridi walked into the room for the first time, everything went awry. The plants immediately reverted to their Jurassic-era size ― not that she understood her mother's outburst then ― everything under the influence of the sun sprouted tall enough to cover even a colossus. Glass shards exploded everywhere when the plants grew out of control through the ceiling, breaking their neatly-organized greenhouses and inadvertently created a more… _open_ environment.

The damage was done, as Viridi's creation and the manifestation of these exotic plants within her room was proof of her connection to Yggdrasil. Whether or not the elf daughter knew her other 'parent' was a literal tree would be a secret Toreii was hoping to take to the grave. The only silver lining to the whole debacle was she now had an overabundance of crafting materials.

Viridi finally reached the epicenter of the living-garden-cum-bedroom. A small clearing of bright green grass came into view right underneath the miniaturized blue sun. Like a scene straight out of a fairytale, assorted flowers were in full bloom scattered across the clearing. A lone tree stood by itself dead center, with red maple leaves as if autumn had come early, yet there was not a single trace of a fallen leaf anywhere.

_Too _picture perfect, hinting at the scene's supernatural origins.

The maple tree was not particularly large compared to its other overgrown brethren, but Viridi was still proud of it nonetheless. She had grown it from a small sapling, watering it every day and clearing the weed around its roots by hand, to prove to her mother she was able to control her innate instinct around plants. In the month since the 'test' was given, Viridi was a bit sad her mother did not visit her even once, when the tree she had painstakingly nurtured by hand had started to bear fruit. Every variety of hanging fruit sprouted nonstop and was picked daily for consumption should the deity ever visit, since Viridi made sure there was always a cornucopia of the sweetest fruits available.

Thankfully, it seemed whatever held her mother up had disappeared, given the amount of time, affection, and attention Toreii had been lavishing her lately. To an outsider, this would've been clear solely because the comparable amount of time in a before-after comparison chart was… precisely _zero_, against the still-ticking-up time counter running up to now.

Naturally, no one would be able to say it to her face because they'd likely be dead before they're able to finish the sentence.

Trying to pit Viridi against her mother? She'd much preferred suicide, thank you very much.

Finding a shady patch underneath the maple tree, Viridi carried her sleeping beauty to a comfortable spot. The other elves whom she had worked with before by editing their traumatic memories had given the ancient elf enough confidence to initiate a deeper session into long-term memories. She had gained sensitive information from Vy's state and kingdom, but to fully determine if helping these lower elves was worth her mother's time, she needed the memories from someone near the crown itself.

Sleeping quietly and without the slightest worry in the world, Vy lightly snored as she clung onto Viridi's body. The last memories the young princess had were slowly being analyzed by the ancient elf, and _edited_. Unlike the lesser elves who followed her around like the goddess she was, Vy was her own person with her own convictions and belief, most likely due to her greater experiences with beings more powerful than her in every way.

However, like everyone else, the building blocks of a person's being and soul rested within their memories.

Learning all she could from the other elves, Viridi already had a good understanding of Vy's home and kingdom. Now that she was within the princess's dreamscape, it was quite a mess inside the young elf's psyche. To Viridi, memories were all interlinked like a massive tree, where the fresher memories could be accessed from the branches ― while the older ones were like hardened roots, hidden away underneath the tangle of fresher layers.

Now within the deepest recesses of Vy's mind, Viridi looked upon the awkward tree where the princess's whole being was represented. It was damaged, clearly having seen better days. Surviving in a browning meadow, the lone tree had parts of its roots above ground; the sheer number of those compared to the healthy ones made Viridi think this tree was almost uprooted. Its branches were either cut off or brazenly broken off, with very few remaining intact. Instead of growing upwards, Vy's tree of memories skewed off-center and leaned more heavily on its side.

Despite the princess's unwavering composure when watched from a distance, Viridi knew all along it was nothing more than act, especially now as she touched the greyish, ash-dry bark. In response, Vy's physical body stirred itself subconsciously in deep sleep. Just as Nanami gained Toreii's inability to socialize, Viridi inherited her mother's distrust of others. Good will and honest intentions were just not enough for the ancient elf to consider anyone worthy of Toreii's attention, let alone her help and mercy.

After all, it would also mean more rivals for her mother's time ― one she'd loathe to share with others apart from her own sisters, Frigga included.

The only true way to know another being was to peer through their entire lifetime, to see their deepest, darkest moments, and to witness what they would never speak of, or even acknowledge themselves.

Viridi, who had never once ventured outside her home, who had never once seen a tree grow naturally on its own against the forces of nature, believed everything not meticulously controlled and cared for would be full of imperfections. Imperfections which she could fix, as long as she could uproot the old roots and plant a new seed she would nurture in its place. She saw how beautifully crafted her sisters were by none other than her perfect mother, so to follow in her steps, Viridi needed practice with blank slates.

Had Toreii been here, she would blame herself for the kind of upbringing her eldest daughter got. Even if she had never seen an actual tree, Toreii would have told her daughter off for thinking it was possible to 'fix' a tree. It was perfectly normal for a tree to bend in strange angles as it grew, as it was a sign of the base strengthening itself against the wind which tried to knock it down. The branches, which might break or bend or stop growing in a certain direction completely, were all within the norm as they sacrificed their bodies for the greater whole. Growth was not limited to a clear-cut design, nor was it measurable or had a standard.

Viridi did not know better — to her, the only acceptable example was what her mother had laid down. For someone who believed their affinity was to be in tune with nature, Viridi was about as far off from 'natural' as possible. Although she wanted to completely change the memories of the lost princess from the roots up, Viridi knew her mother had formed a loose friendship with the child. Even if it was the slightest of changes, her all-knowing mother would suspect her immediately.

For now, only looking was acceptable. She would have to ask for permission later.

Switching her attention from the rough bark of the tree to the visible roots, Viridi carefully observed the princess's body for a reaction as she dived further into Vy's older memories. Some memories, like the ones represented by the broken branches, were those the child had mostly forgotten about, and Viridi could only loosely infer things from what the elf had remembered. The awkwardly pointed base of her tree were memories of the elf child's upbringing: the daily lessons with private tutors, learning from her older sisters on how to act around nobility, the hierarchy of their elven kingdom, and the third princess's purpose in it.

Diving deeper into the roots of Vy's tree, she understood why parts of them were above ground. It had seemed part of the reason why the elf had become a runaway was due to the fact the third princess was to be married off to quell the kingdom's tensions with the orcs.

"What a selfish child," Viridi chided, checking Vy's vitals carefully. For all the talk she kept hearing about how the princess was going to learn higher-tier magic to fight for her people, the child could not even bite her own tongue in silence to ensure the immediate prosperity of her kin.

Learning everything she wanted from the child, Viridi set her sleeping body down onto the warm grass below, dissipating her aroma to allow natural sleep to take over. She now knew not only the exact location of the elf's home and kingdom, but also their internal workings. Even a third princess would be privy to sensitive knowledge of the crown, and to lose said princess would be a great leak to their secrets.

Toreii had given the ancient elf explicit orders to care for the princess, which also included the elf's wellbeing. With such a vague command from her mother, Viridi figured the deity had left it to her discretion and interpretation. "What would be best for a selfish child like you, hmm…?" The elder elf jokingly asked.

Although the child had openly rejected Toreii's offer to search for her mother, Viridi understood why Vy would want to be reunited with her. After being created and raised by such a perfect, supreme being, she'd known of the special kinship between mother and daughter. Would it have been better to replace the elf's feelings and memories with false ones? Viridi could always go through each and every moment of Vy's life and replace her mother with another being.

No… knowing her own mother, the deity would reject such a suggestion handily.

She could always stick with the original agreement, which was to teach the elf 5th-Tier magic, but after seeing the 50 or so years it took for this princess to get to even the 4th tier, the idea of these 'guests' staying any longer within their home left a sour taste in her mouth. The only other immediate remedy she could apply to both her problems and these elves would be to deal with the orcs and the elf kingdom's problems herself. Now, it came down to the question of whether it was quicker to teach higher-tier magic to a single person, or to resolve the issues plaguing an entire kingdom.

"If you use the first bird to get the second one, you eliminate the need for a stone," Viridi misquoted her mother's 'wise' words of wisdom and life lessons. She had no idea what the 'stone' was supposed to do in this argument, but she knew for sure which 'bird' she was going to use to get the other.

Holding a hand to her ear, the ancient elf used [Message] to contact her sister. Nanami had been reporting her daily adventures to her elder sister with mighty tales from the surface world. Their home was concealed within a flying castle hovering above the cloudline, a scenery alien to her and most of Asgard, where extraordinary male warriors of godly strength and female politicians with silent tongues resided within. Viridi did not particularly understand the second part of the report, but still listened attentively to the childish rambling of her cute youngest sister, who was normally quiet throughout the entire day.

What had piqued her interest the most, however, was the independence their mother had allowed the silent girl. Not only was Nanami allowed to explore this flying castle, but she was also tasked with tracking the movement of several of the New World's humans. Envy quietly stirred within Viridi's heart at the apparent special treatment a parent reserved only for their youngest child, but that did not deter her from loving her sister any less. To serve their mother well and to make her happy was their one and only purpose which all of them agreed upon.

The opportunity for the eldest daughter to make her mother proud had come at last. "Nanami? Are you free to talk?" Viridi asked as soon as the spell connected.

"I will always make time for my big sis," Nanami chimed, clearly in high spirits. "Is it time of the day for me to report already?"

Happy to hear her sister's voice after not seeing her daily anymore, the envy in her heart instantly vanished, as if it never existed in the first place. "Not quite… I was wondering if I could ask a favor from you. Mother wanted me to help the elf princess, but I need to go to their kingdom to do so. Would I be troubling you if I need you to transport me there?" Viridi explained.

"I don't mind. Just treat me to some apples next time," Nanami easily accepted. If it was to help her mom or sisters, the quiet girl would not quarrel.

"Thank you, Nanami. I'll [Message] you when I'm done preparing," Viridi said. She was somewhat glad the innocent child did not have to compete for their mother's love like she and her two middle siblings do. "Is Mother there with you?"

"She's sleeping right now. Tomorrow is the start of her 3-day meeting with the Asgardians," the youngest Noble Sister clarified. She had read the invitations Frigga had sent out a month prior, which scheduled every noblewomen to be present during the proceedings. Originally, she heard the maids talk about a week-long meeting, but somehow the Queen of Asgard managed to cut it down to 3 days.

'_3 whole days? What can I do in 3 day time?'_ The ancient elf wondered. Her critical eyes wandered to the sleeping 'bird' as her mind hatched several dozen schemes at once. "Stay safe, Nanami. I'll only need a couple minutes."

Ending the spell, Viridi started by reaching into a dark void, sorting through the treasures her mother had entrusted to the eldest daughter. A large stockpile of pure data crystals for crafting equipment and weapons was included in it, but without Toreii's explicit permission, usage of these crystals was strictly forbidden. What Viridi was searching for instead were low level equipment to keep the young elf alive during their little incursion into the elven kingdom.

As a merciful goddess, Viridi felt it was improper to solve every mortal being's problems for them. After all, why should she help those who could not even help themselves? The best way to solve this little 'orc problem' and help the princess learn higher-tier magic was one and the same. It was a term she heard her mother use extensively when the Deity went out to gather outside resources. For now, she borrowed several rings, circlets, bracers, and necklaces.

If this selfish child wanted power for herself, she would have to _earn_ it.

Just behind her, the air shifted ever so slightly as the black and purple monk robes she was familiar with appeared out of nowhere. A black sigil appeared briefly on the elf's arm before disappearing with her sister's appearance. Although there were magical barriers in place in both their Parthenon and the castle above, stopping all known forms of teleporting, their mother's unknown sigil magic was the only exclusion.

The elven refugees who began worshiping Viridi not too long ago started a rumor that Toreii was from an ancient time, before the rules of magic were set in stone. Although these were merely the ramblings of mortal glorification of her mother, she could not help but think there might be some truth to it. Across all of Yggdrasil, and through her own extensive research of every known magic caster class, there was never another example of the sigil magic their mother wielded. Admiration for her perfect mother only increased tenfold when Viridi learned of her exclusive parentage, the likes of which were unique only to their family.

Standing up, Viridi quickly hugged her little sister in welcome. On long days like these, the quiet girl gave her someone to vent her troubles to. Nanami truly was the best listener among all the Noble Sisters, holding the unofficial position of secret keeper during their girl talks. Although there was some envy surrounding the special love the youngest child always received, it was impossible to deny there was also part of those she deserved.

"I miss not having you around the Parthenon every day," Viridi said, enjoying the embrace with her sister as long as she can.

"I miss you too. I'm sorry I can't visit more. Mom has me busy tracking the humans she found," Nanami apologized. It never occurred to her she might one day have to leave the home she grew up in, but between the noisy Asgardians and the barbaric humans, she was starting to feel a little bit homesick.

Neither of them realized they shared this trait with their mother – uncomfortable among other people made from different cuts of cloth.

Seeing her little sister actively helping their mother out, and returning with something to show for it, made Viridi wonder if she could ever achieve the same prestige, given her status as the eldest child. She very dearly wanted to win some of Toreii's attention, even if it was just simple words of praise. Although their mother openly said she loved them all the same, Nanami was the only one who actually got to spend time with Toreii.

"You're always working hard," Viridi complimented, "I can see why you're the favorite daughter."

Nanami's cute face scrunched up into a slight frown, but her rosy cheeks blushed with embarrassment, even if it was from someone she knew. "That's… not true. I'm just trying to help Mom out so she doesn't have to worry so much all the time," she said to deflect the unwanted attention.

"And that's why you're her favorite," Viridi giggled, softly kissing her kid sister on the forehead.

Nanami's rosy cheeks blossomed into a fully flustered expression, as the quiet and shy girl Viridi watched grow up struggled to come up with a counter argument. Viridi was all smiles in the presence of her youngest sister, happy to know some things never change.

Under such familial teasing, the poor girl's voice was lost in her throat. Barely able to squeak out coherent words, she spoke her last words before using the special sigil given only to her. "Please stop… It's embarrassing…"

* * *

**Day 1**

A steady, powerful heartbeat drummed on peacefully in Vy's right ear. Warmth was evenly distributed through her entire body, down to her little toes and to the top of her head. It had been so long since she was able to sleep this way; she had almost forgotten what it was like to be safe at night. Each of her tiny fingers slowly unfurled themselves as the numbness of sleep wore off. However, every part of her refused to regain their motor skills, wanting to prolong the comfort of slumber within her… mother's arms.

'_Mother…?'_ The last time she was ever able to sleep like this was the eve of her mother's disappearance. Startled by the realization, Vy's eyes instantly shot open and her hands fumbled to grab whoever was cradling her.

Had anyone other than Viridi been carrying the sleeping princess, the sudden jolt from the child would have caused her to fall onto the hard ground below. Luckily for her, the angelic wings on the ancient elf's back were neatly folded together to form a makeshift cradle. Only someone as spoiled as Vy could possibly reject the generosity Viridi had shown so far.

"Stop flailing; you look like a dying fish," Viridi advised, speaking half like a gentle protector and an absolute authority.

With years of royal upbringing calming her nerves, Vy still kept herself on high alert. The sweet aroma of the ancient elf was still prevalent, but it was not the same sleep toxins the princess unknowingly inhaled. Taking long, deep breaths, Vy regained the composure of her usual façade, though with a fair share of embarrassment at her rude reflexes. Of all the ways to start her day, being enveloped in a cocoon of heavenly feathers was something Vy only dreamt of childishly. She once thought it's silly why humans revered Gods and angels out of respect instead of fear, but first-hand experience instilled a new expectation within her.

Waiting ever-so-patiently for this spoiled child to stop wasting her time, Viridi gingerly unwrapped her onto the ground. "I have 3 days to teach you the 5th- and 6th-Tier," the ancient elf said clearly and concisely. Viridi wanted proof she was capable of helping Toreii with larger tasks, so if helping this helpless child would get her there, then so be it.

The princess thought herself safe once free of the seraph's grasp, but found herself alarmed once more when she got a clear look of what she was made to wear. Gone was the breezy, white toga she was given, now replaced with form-fitting silk as black as a bottomless abyss. Around her neck, wrist, and ankles were jade circlets inscribed with symbols of a foreign language she did not understand. Each of her fingers wore rings made of various metals with countless numbers of jewels studded in. Her shoulder-length hair was tied up on each side, one with a pink ribbon and the other with a black lotus.

Now that she was fully awake, Vy realized a tremendous amount of energy was rushing through her body. Previously, her mana reserves were more akin to a small pond, and even one which she would have to restrict the use of. Whatever the demigod elf in front of her had done, Vy felt imbued with enough magic to take on even her father in a drawn-out fight. Every sound was amplified in her ears, and the darkness before dawn looked as bright as midday.

That small pond was now a boundless ocean.

Gone were the ash-grey walls of her patron's home ― now replaced by the ever-familiar brown bark and green leaves of her former forest home. Through the branches, she could make out the twigs of bird nests in the far distance. Just like the demigod, her bare feet soon touched the cold, wet grass, the restored connection to the earth felt nice. With her initial rush of fear subsiding, Vy's rational mind guessed she was somewhere back in her home world.

From what Viridi was able to glimpse from their memories, although Tier Magic somewhat worked in the same vein between the Yggdrasil and/or New World natives, there was a staggering difference in items and equipment. Everyone in Yggdrasil, her mother and Viridi included, relied heavily on their specialized gear for stat bonuses as well as resistance to whomever/whatever they were facing. Gear was such an integral part of their world that multiple sets was the bare requirement for just stepping out of Yggdrasil. Optimization was the name of the game for every min/maxer like Toreii, a tendency which she unknowingly passed down to her eldest daughter.

"Consider these _gifts_ to be a loan," Viridi clarified, since it was borrowed on _her_ name. Given the nature of these items and her disposition against the natives, she would rather not have anyone but her own family be their users. The risk of being betrayed would always be there, but Viridi was desperate to get concrete results for her mother. If she could somehow fast-track solving the issues with these elves, not only will the burden on her mother lessen, but Viridi would be able to show she was the responsible eldest daughter she knew she was.

Vy's trained mannerisms told her to thank the demigod for the lavish items, but her feelings of disconnect to Viridi made her hesitant with her words. In the end, the young princess capitulated, "I am forever humbled by your gracious consideration for my well-being, Lady Viridi," Vy cajoled with a respectful bow.

"Make no mistake, these items are for more than just to keep you alive. Having to resurrect you every time you die will set us back time and progress," Viridi said rather coldly. She could feel she still hadn't gained this one's full adoration and trust, unlike the other lowly elves, so sometimes her apathy for Vy's 'selfishness' surfaced.

Shifting through the memories of these elves, Viridi specifically chose this set of gear so the orcs they were at war with could only do physical harm to this unofficial apprentice of hers. Although the guise of her plan was to have Vy grind for experience points from the orcs, Viridi was following the presumption this elf grew similarly enough to Yggdrasil natives in terms of leveling up class and skills. Not only would documenting her findings here be useful for future consideration, but she had a _coup d'état_ to start.

As expected, for a child of a god to throw around concepts like resurrection magic as if it was just an _inconvenience_ was quite typical. Vy thought she would be desensitized to it by now, but what she was being offered at this moment… She was literally being offered godhood, something only near-immortals could ever hope to achieve, yet it sounded like it's just another chore for Viridi to check off her to-do list. To bring someone back from death itself… to cheat death…

Not only has Toreii and her children achieved it, but it became such a regular occurrence they considered _death_ to be a simple hassle.

'_Will I become like this too?'_ Vy silent asked every morsel of her being. All the good she thought she could accomplish if only she were stronger… Would it all be for naught if she grew apathetic to everyone she wanted to protect? Was her future staring herself right in the face?

Though, if that was the case, someone like Toreii would not exist in this world. Though their first meeting went off the wrong impression, the tiny girl was anything but emotionless.

"What will I be doing which might get me killed?" Vy tried to ask discreetly. Even if resurrection was on the table now, it did not alleviate her fears of dying.

"You have a problem with the orcs; I have the problem of _you_ learning magic. Kill enough orcs and we'll burn that bridge when we get there," Viridi explained, using another one of her mother's wise words of wisdom.

A slow and mounting panic now gnawed at Vy's composure. She could not tell if the ancient elf was being metaphorical or literal. The princess had come across many human proverbs, but seeing as the demigod was very likely a few millennia old, perhaps these were the actual, original apothegm being said by her.

Realizing what the ancient elf was planning to do, Vy's mind was filled to the brim with horror stories of neighboring elven kingdoms which had fallen to the orc horde. "H-How will I face these o-orcs?! I'm not well versed in c-combat magic!" The princess argued, still debating whether she was more afraid of millions of orcs or just a single demigod elf.

'_Quite well versed in complaining, aren't you?'_ Viridi mentally noted. "Then kill enough orcs until you are. Surely, something as trivial as dispelling mere beasts is not too complicated for a _princess_?"

"My lineage is not filled with war mages! We ar-"

"Then your people were always **destined **to be wiped out," Viridi coldly interjected. The princess's face immediately went crestfallen as she reeled back from the harsh words ― reality ― but the ancient elf was not letting the spoiled child get off that easily. "Please tell me now if I'm merely wasting my time delaying the inevitable. Are my efforts going toward saving cattle who were always meant to be slaughtered?"

"W-W-We're not c-cattle…" Vy tried to refute, but her voice could not muster the strength for anything greater than a quiet mumble. The word hit a sore spot for the forsaken princess, as her eyes began clouding themselves with tears. Her time spent with the human traffickers were not kind, and she understood why some of her fellow deserters wanted to forget the entire experience, but the burden of remembering and preventing more misfortune was hers and hers alone.

And from what she'd heard of the orcs, they were _far_ worse.

"I certainly hope so; I'd hate to be associated with something so cavalier," Viridi said. With all her preparations done, she pointed to the direction her plants had scouted out earlier. "The orc caravan was one league that way and their scouts are half a league from us."

Realizing there was no arguing with the demigod on this matter, Vy stuck her head forward and slowly began her march toward either her death or the orcs. Having learned less than a single handful of damaging spells, the most she can do was maybe kill a single orc and then hope whatever divine plan Viridi had would kick in by then. There was no way she would be left to her own devices against several million orcs, when the ancient elf had already decided their time window.

At least Vy hoped as much…

'_Resurrection sure sounds nice right now…'_

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry everyone. I almost forgot about this month's release. I haven't stopped writing, just making sure I have a couple of chapters written out and edited just in case. I'm shifting the focus away from Toreii for a little bit, but I'll get back to her within a few chapters.


	13. Chapter 13 - Vy's Misadventure, Part 2

Just as she was foretold, a scouting party of 2 nimble, hog rider orcs could be seen huddled around their makeshift camp. Since leaving the protection of her 'guardian angel', the princess snuck very closely behind every tree and bush she could find. Being able to see in the dark made a whole world of difference when in unfamiliar territory. Not only was she able to spot the tracks the hogs made, but also the light of the campfire from outside of the orcs' hearing distance.

Creeping closer and closer, her nose picked up the familiar floral scent the ancient elf always smelled of. Unlike the sweet scent which Vy fell victim to very recently, this one smells bitter and left her with a slight headache. Although she was unsure if her own body had any built-up resistances to the biohazardous plants Viridi commanded, it seemed the items she was gifted had offered _some_ protection against the deadly aroma.

The first clear view she got of the scouting party showed both were frozen stiff in place, except for one orc who had realized something deadly was being pumped through the air and into their lungs. Around their campsite, small pink larkspurs flowers were in full bloom, with their pollen slowly drifting through the air to and fro around the orcs. Having seen these types of flowers before, Vy knew touching them would cause nausea and paralysis even among forest elves, who had lived their entire lives breeding magical plants. Never before had she seen an airborne species with an even deadlier effect.

White foam had started to froth from their mouths as their lungs grasped and struggled for any air, but nothing apart from gurgling sounds could be heard by Vy as their airways constricted more and more by the second. Although she was drugged in a similar manner, to see the full potential to which the demigod commanded plant life from a third-person perspective made Vy thankful she was not on the receiving end of _these_ flowers.

One of the orcs was hunched over their campfire and about ready to enjoy some roasted boar they had caught, but his body soon went stiff, as if frozen in time. A lone orc was the only one who seemed to have successfully reached for a cloth to cover his mouth and nose, even managing as far as to drag himself into his bag and searched for what Vy assumed would be a warning horn.

Vy felt conflicted inside after carefully assessing the scene. Horror stories fueled her nightmares with orcs since the first time she was introduced to their secret war, but seeing the agonizing fate these orcs were made to endure made her a bit sick. There was no honor in biological warfare, especially on the scale and potency which Viridi was able to wield so efficiently. Still, some part of her did think it was a fitting end for such barbaric animals, who did nothing but consume and whose very nature was to waylay.

Knowing the longer she lingered on with her own moral debate, the longer the orcs would continue to suffer, Vy understood why Viridi could so callously call others 'cattle'.

Only someone as powerful as her could provide paralyzed barbaric orcs as 'cattle' for an apprentice's training session.

Her gut churned, and she felt a slow tremble building in her hands and knees, culminating in a full-blown shake of the body after she realized she was nothing more than a single piece on a larger-scale game played by the elf-god. Each of her fingers felt rigid, fighting against her will as she tried to lift her hand to cast her spell. She was sure each of them had lives or loved ones which they all went home to at night, yet the more she lingered, the louder a voice inside her head chimed.

Memories of crippled elves flooded her mind, as images of the last elven village to be attacked by the orcs played vividly inside of her head. She was not sure how it was possible, but the memories seemed too eerily realistic, as if she were the person experiencing the tragedy herself. The orcs did not treat the elves as fellow sentient beings, just bags of meat meant only for pleasure and food.

Vy's face twisted in anguish, and then disgust, from the actions she was forced to remember. Heavy heart beats rhythmically drummed on in her pointy ears, but what surprised her was the trembling in her hands stopped. Although her conscious still considered herself to be the better being, Vy's heart had already made up its mind about the orc race.

Taking aim at the orc reaching for the warning horn, she focused on the anger driving her forward. The jade bracers around her wrists lightly glowed a brilliant hue of green as she shouted, "[Lightning]!"

Concentrating at the tip of her finger, a lightning bolt jolted out at blazing speed, leaving a smoldering hole the size of a watermelon in the orc's head where she pointed. Burnt flesh and blood flooded the dirt where the dead orc lied, with his body convulsing from the sudden shot of electricity through the spine. The loud crack and boom of blue lightning cause Vy to jump back, yelping in surprise at the destructive output she was never capable of.

From the time she first learned the spell to the day she exhibited exemplary accuracy, Vy was very adept at controlling and mastering precision over her magic, but the princess lacked any kind of potency when it came to destructive output. Only ever achieving results in the form of grape-sized lightning holes in her practice dummies, Vy's intuition began deciphering the purpose of the seemingly-excessive jewelry she was made to wear.

She had heard fairy tales of great heroes from faraway lands who wielded unimaginable power and possessed godly items gifted to them to aid in their quest. Although these stories were merely legendary tales to inspire children, Vy saw the hidden truth in some of them. There was no such line between reality and fantasy for Gods, especially one who could just give out items like these willy-nilly. For a single person to wield such powerful items, he/she would have to be a national hero, or at the very least the king of a nation. The dazzling armament which she thought was just protective in nature skyrocketed in her appraisal into the realm of national treasures which would only be brought out in times of war.

Still mesmerized in a daze of wonder at the items she was entrusted with, Vy failed to notice Viridi's magic spell connecting. "Do you mind? I don't have all day-"

"WAH! W-who's there?!" Vy screamed in surprise.

"There is no _need_ to **scream**," replied an annoyed Viridi, clearly getting an earful of high-pitched childish yelping. "I'm talking to you using [Message]," she explained.

"How can you see me?! What's [Message]? Are you telepathic?" The princess rapidly asked in succession. She turned her head left and right, looking everywhere for signs of the angelic white wings.

Remembering she was talking to a literal child, Viridi restrained herself from saying something she would regret hearing from her mother later. "No, I am not telepathic or any kind of psychic. [Message] is a spell which lets me talk to you from a distance. I've been monitoring you with my plants."

Vy should have guessed as much ― there was no escaping the sight of the elf-god ― but to think Viridi's voice would sound so crisp and clear in her head via the use of a mere spell amazed the princess to no end. Remembering her manners, she quickly replied after the brief silence, "Thank you for allowing me to use such great treasures. I did not understand the power and responsibility entrusted to me. Please accept my deepest apology."

"The gesture is noted, Princess Vy, but daylight is burning out and you have yet to clear this scouting party. The quicker you clear through the orc horde, the faster you will achieve the 5th-Tier," Viridi said in a hurry. Since she doubted the natives knew about experience points and how it worked, a brazen explanation of her plan was good enough until she needed to fill in the gaps later. Grinding experience points from the orcs would be best for a low-level mage like the ex-princess, as the continuous use of spells would eventually lead to more being available to learn and use later.

"I'm terribly so-"

"Stop apologizing and start killing the orcs," Viridi commanded.

At a loss after no further words were spoken to her, Vy eventually realized the spell was cut from the other side. Although she heard the orders she was given loud and clear, she disliked the choice of words the ancient elf had used. Vy did not consider what she was doing was directly killing the orcs, but more akin to euthanizing them. Viridi had done the worst to them, poisoning them and paralyzing them permanently. What Vy was doing was nothing more than showing the highest form of mercy she could to these orcs.

Once again, she pointed to a crippled orc and shouted, "[Lightning]!"

* * *

By midday, the young elf princess had moved locations, but the scene she was in was still the same. A single trail of bloody footprints could be seen from the treeline leading to an outpost occupied by the rest of the scouting party. The only sounds which could be heard through the leather huts were thunderous cracks, followed by soft thuds and sticky splashing sounds.

**\- *Crack!* *Thud!* *Splat!* *Crack!* *Thud!* *Splat!***

She thought her anger and hatred for the orcs allowed her to so easily dispose of their mangled bodies, but after clearing the scouting party, she only found a hollow emptiness inside instead of sadistic satisfaction. Vy kept on making up new reasons why she was doing the things she was, justifying it was nothing more than euthanasia, but after the 3rd or so body hit the floor, she found it hard to argue she was just killing them because she was told to do so.

Warm blood soaked her bare feet as she could no longer avoid not stepping into the large, red puddles pooling everywhere she went. The crack of her lightning became dull in her ears compared to the squishy splats she was forced to hear every time her magic was casted. Trying to end their suffering as quickly as possible, Vy was sure to always aim for their heads, but in doing so, caused a great amount of blood to gush from their headless bodies as a result, since it meant the carotid arteries near the base of the neck was not cauterized.

**\- *Crack!* *Thud!* *Splat!* *Crack!* *Thud!* *Splat!***

At some point, her lightning had caught the wood around their settlement on fire, which quickly spread from behind her. Knowing these poor orcs were only paralyzed, Vy had sped up her pace to ensure she killed them before the fire could. Even though the outpost was small, she counted almost a dozen orcs had died by her hand. The finger she used to point death at the orcs was blackening from constantly shooting lightning. Despite the growing fire behind her, she only worried about how much mana she had left and if she had enough to finish the ordeal the entire time.

As she reached the other side of their outpost, a thick column of dark black smoke cloud had formed overhead from the burning oils from the corpses, along with everything else. Every time she shot another bolt of lightning, Vy's entire body would freeze up. She unknowingly held her breath near the end due to the stench, gasping for air with sweat dripping down her forehead. The bitter aroma which caused these orcs to foam at the mouth and freeze in place like they just saw a gorgon was replaced with the smell of soot and burning flesh.

Being a vegetarian all her life, Vy gagged on the unfamiliar and grotesque smells. She fell into a fit of violent coughs which threatened to make her puke up everything in her stomach. Vy fled as fast as her blood-soaked feet could muster. Tears rolled down her cheeks from her bloodshot eyes which stung terribly from the smoky air.

The back of her mind filled itself with grievances of the terrible things which had befallen these orcs. She thought these green-skinned barbarians were just animals, with how little they valued the culture and wellbeing of everyone outside of their race, but after seeing Viridi's treatment of them, Vy knew even mindless animals deserved better than what happened to these orcs.

"This is… ***cough*** cruel…" Vy cried, her tears running down her cheeks onto the brown ground. She wanted to confront these orcs on her own terms, with her own abilities and her own worth. However, the opportunity to do so was reduced to nothing more than mercy killings. The young elf felt less like herself and more in tow with what Viridi intended for her to be.

"They didn't drop any crystals… How disappointing," Viridi calmly said.

"Huh?!" Vy suddenly gasped. Out of nowhere, without as much as any flashes of light or distortion in the air, the elf-god appeared like an apparition to haunt Vy's thoughts. Immediately reminded of her status, the princess quickly bowed to her superior, not minding the pain of inhaling smoke prior.

"I-I've-I've done what you've asked… The s-scouting party and the outpost have been cleared…" announced a raspy Vy with regret and a dry throat.

"So it would seem," said Viridi, inspecting the princess's handiwork. "None of the orcs dropped any crystals upon their death?"

"N-No," answered Vy, unsure about the reasoning behind the question. "Was I to check their bodies for jewels and ***cough*** treasure?" She was not a grave robber yet, or _any_ kind of robber for that matter, but today had proven to be a first time for everything.

The orange-red blaze of the fire shone starkly against the sky-blue irises of Viridi's calculating eyes. With a disappointed sigh, she answered her unlikely apprentice, "Disregard it; it's no longer a concern. I'm sure by now you are out of mana?"

She was unsure how the demigod was keeping track of Vy's movements so accurately, as well as status and health, but then she chalked it up to the priceless items she was given. "Yes, Lady Viridi. Using [Lightning] this many times… If I ***cough*** continue, I'm a-afraid it will be without my magic," she tried to explain. Even if her enemies were frozen from with poisonous spores, Vy would still be marching further into enemy territory with nothing to back her up.

As the heat of the fire continued to grow and the air permeated with wavy illusions, the light of the sun told Viridi the first day was already half over. From the memories she had glimpsed inside the princess, Viridi summarized from Vy's capabilities wielding the 4th-Tier landed her around Level 25, perhaps levelling up to 26 after clearing the outpost. Even if the orcs were only Level 10 or so, killing nearly a dozen of them would have given the elf-in-training enough experience points for a single level ― at least according to the numbers Viridi ran in her head.

Since Viridi was collecting experimental field data, she had yet to learn of how long it takes for these New World natives to learn new spells once they had accumulated enough exp points for a level up. The princess's memories told her it could take days to learn a new spell and perfect it, but that was under the guise of tutors without Viridi's time constraints.

Turning her back to the bowing princess, Viridi looked to the faraway treeline and pointed her open palm straight at it. "[Nature's Shelter]," she said, casting the 10th-Tier spell. It pained her to waste so much mana on a spoiled girl who did not deserve any of her time or attention, but reminding herself it was all in the name of duty to her mother helped her pride.

From beneath the trees, dirt erupted with explosive force in every direction. Roots jutted out from the brown earth simultaneously to form a miniature fortress in the form of an upside-down tree ― with the roots woven together as the roof and the soft leaves as the base. Each of the individual roots were thick in size and dark-brown in color, with a man-made wooden door at the front as the only entrance. Dozens of birds fled in surprise upon the sudden intrusion of their homes, but some still smacked right into the top of the magical fort, since its final height reached above the other trees.

The open palm she held out changed color from natural cream-white to a leafy green, before lastly drying up and crumbling to a darker brown. The proxy leaf clone Viridi had sent to keep check of the princess had run out of mana, which meant she had little time left unless she wanted to visit Vy in person.

Facing the awestruck child again, Viridi's other hand delivered a small piece of parchment to the girl. Before the rest of her crumbled away to dead leaves, she told Vy her next set of instructions, "The scroll has a list of 4th-Tier spells you can learn. Pick 3 you can learn by tomorrow which you think will help. I won't accept any delays."

With the last of the leaves shriveling up and dying, Viridi's instructions rang clear in Vy's ears. Quickly accepting the scroll before it dropped to the ground, she was still in shock at the ancient elf's ability with nature. From manipulating local plant life to being able to create lifelike clones of herself with nothing but leaves, the princess's admiration for Viridi's gift to bend nature to her will grew endlessly, disregarding her actual personality.

The heat of the fire behind her snapped Vy back to her senses, which caused her to back away from the all-consuming flames. Stagnant, smoky air slowly burned her throat and lungs the longer she stood near the burning outpost. Running quickly to the surrounding forest, Vy hoped the fire behind her did not spread to the wooden shelter she was to stay in.

For good reason ― normally, concentrated lightning strikes produced so much heat they carbonized their targets so quickly flames didn't have a chance to form or propagate. Natural lightning occurred under so many variables this event's happenstance was actually boosted. Only impure targets and media of travel enabled forest fire of this size ― usually, the most common culprit was long, steady, dry summer heat instead of temperamental lightning storms.

Approaching the main entrance, the wooden circular door opened itself upon her arrival, and just as quickly closed itself once she cleared the doorway. Behind her, she heard a familiar mechanical locking system, but started to panic when the door itself disappeared behind several layers of roots, placing her more under house arrest than actually protecting her from the outside.

Wood furniture accompanied the light hardwood interior of the magical root-house. A small cozy living room with a single table and a pair of chairs were the only things on this level, before Vy saw stairs leading to a lower level. The burning smoke smell choking her nose was cleared by an hearty-oak aroma, which she tracked to be coming from underneath.

Soft footsteps on the creaking wood could be heard from downstairs, as another person was slowly making their way upward. A fresh, white bonnet was the first thing Vy saw emerge from the rectangular hole, as she recognized who was also staying with her tonight.

Viridi's special handmaiden carried a steaming mug on a wood platter, which she placed on the table before Vy.

"H-Hello," Vy greeted with a respectful bow. Even if her status as an elven princess was higher than that of a servant, a demigod's personal dragonkin maid was _probably_ leagues ahead of any title she currently held.

"Princess Vy," Gratia acknowledged. Gently setting down the steaming mug, her draconic biology gave her no troubles with hot temperatures. "The tea will help with your throat. I'm sure your kind does not thrive well under such caustic air."

"Thank you," said Vy back. Accepting her gesture, she took a seat at the table and began sipping slowly on the hot tea. The sore tenderness of her arms and tendons slowly unwound with each slurp of the bitter, rustic leaves. Despite the cold relationship between her and her unofficial teacher, Vy was sure in another life, Viridi would have been the world's best herbalist, or at the very least a renowned tea grower.

After being so far away from home and without the usual comforts she was used to, the refreshing tea abated a little bit of her homesickness. The Pantheon was by far the greatest feat of architecture she had ever witnessed, but she missed the simplistic smells and quietness of her natural forest home. Her puffy, bloodshot eyes could finally relax enough for Vy to keep them closed, as she drowned out everything else in her first moment of relief.

"Please head down when you're done. I'll have a bath drawn for you," said Gratia, noting the reeking charcoal smell on the child. She would have not normally mind the burning aroma, but to allow such an unpleasant smell near her master would be poor judgement on her part.

"I certainly will," said Vy. The mysterious case of the half-draconic, half-humanoid maid had always left a giant red question mark in her mind. She wondered how the young dragon girl came to be in the employment of such godly beings, let alone allowing herself to be a servant no less. Countless tales of proud dragons who would sooner die rather than let their self-images be ruined had shaped her expectations of these near-immortal beings.

Yet… with Toreii's family, everything was reversed.

Firmly grasping the mug with both hands, she realized the trembling in them had stopped altogether. The gentle heat through the treated wood was soothing, which helped with the jitters she had since today started. Remembering her conversations with Toreii, Vy wondered how long their family was separated for. Being sealed away for several millennia, she would have expected nothing but complete hatred for the dragons when the deity escaped, but the child-god was perfectly fine with her daughter having a live-in maid of the same race which separated their family.

Throughout her life, Vy has learned there were many reasons for war, but race superiority was among the highest on the list. Her people included, almost every race excluded themselves away from others, as xenophobia seemed to be a primal instinct among all of them. Only someone like Toreii, whom she guessed was among the first primogenitor to populate the planet, could casually see through race without discrimination. As time went on, Vy saw this indifference was not completely inherited by Toreii's children. Viridi did see all races as equal, but only so far as they were all equally inferior compared to her own godly bloodline. Equality through evenly distributed disdain was still equality, she could hear the ancient elf reasoning mentally.

At the end of the day, blood will always be thicker than water.

* * *

Since departing with the excessively needy princess, Viridi was walking cautiously along a beaten path. The outside world was neither the same as the one perfectly crafted by her creator nor was it as beautiful. Among the things she had quickly grown to hate was the newfound noise among the plants and trees which left a steady stream of annoyance in her ears. Having grown up in the serenity and comfort of her perfect biome home, the coexistence of flora and fauna left her in a foul mood to see such weak beings dependending on each other.

None of the new vegetation was in the herbal section of her mother's bestiary, causing Viridi to quickly note and scribe new names for the ones she found. Thanks to the memories of the elves, she already had a large head start in her sidequest, but filling out each entry into the book she borrowed was a long and arduous task. Ingredients for potions and food her mother gathered in her own fetch-quests were nowhere in sight, instead replaced by inferior copies with little-to-none of the potency of their originals.

From the moment she first saw the New World inhabitants, to her setting foot on its soil, Viridi was filled with nothing but pessimism. She saw nothing this new planet could possibly offer her mother, and the list of evidence was exponentially compounding in length. Had there been any amounts of benefits for their side, Viridi would have given the New World a second thought, but it seemed the generosity of her mother was being exploited.

If the current situation stands, even if Vy, the spoiled elf princess, gave up her kingdom to Toreii, the work needed to handle the transition of power and the manpower required to fix said kingdom was very heavily levied on their side. Viridi could learn to tolerate many things, her other sisters being the prime examples, but at the end of the day, she and her family were nothing more than tools for these kinds of people ― the kind she intends to never let her mother ever worry about.

Although her feelings for these natives rang true and clear, if her mother saw fit to help these people, Viridi was in no position to question her creator's decision. The difference between her own intellect and wisdom when compared to her mother would be nothing shy of worlds apart. If she planned something 1 year in advance, there was no doubt Toreii could accomplish the same in just 1 day.

Viridi did not manage to come to the same conclusion of her mother, but hoped something from these natives would show her why Toreii had placed any trust in them. Thus far, evidence was lacking in every category of any worthiness of her creator's time and attention. As her eldest daughter, she would never question anything Toreii did, but she was _not_ her mother. Viridi did not possess the incomparable foresight her creator wielded, nor could she ever hope to.

She did not trust these subpar elves in the slightest and expected all of them to grovel in front of a higher power they did not understand like how spineless servs with no mind of their own usually did. The fact their kingdom was in sharp decline showed not only a weak leadership, but a rapid deterioration of central powers keeping the hysteria from completely breaking out. An entire kingdom of elves in panic and questioning their leadership, and whether it can provide adequate protection of its people, was nigh impossible to control again.

Had Viridi been given more time, more than the 3 whole days she forced herself into, she was sure better results could have been achieved. Unfortunately for these elves, the demigod did not have such luxuries. Since leaving the young princess to her own devices, Viridi considered all the ways the kingdom would eventually be introduced to her mother. One was, of course, a state left in a power vacuum with no clear side regaining control. Second would be a faux display of power by the current heads in order to receive additional aid to their cause. Of course, the third, which Viridi was personally hoping would happen, would be the complete denial of the demigod's claim to power from the current crown.

Viridi's mind was half dreaming of secret plots and half trying to maintain her pace on the dirt path. She was still mildly ticked off by the creases in her feathers from when she had to cradle the sleeping beauty, causing her to preen the outer coat of her angelic wings. Having started on her journey from dawn, she thought by midday she would be near the elven kingdom by now, but to her annoyance, the path she pulled from their memories was not a straightforward one. Instead, , the route she was forced to take had nothing but wayward curves and bends, never once symmetrical.

Of course, many of these complaints stemmed from Viridi's lack of athleticism, keenly noted by Nanami as soon as she heard her eldest sister was stepping outside. Although the ancient faced many standoffs with her younger sisters, bickering about the most trivial of things, she was indeed the least athletic among all of the Noble Sisters ― a toll from spending almost eternity cooped up in her biodome.

Having spent several hours already trekking through the dense forest, the stolen memories told her she was still an hour away. Someone of Nanami's calibre would have cleared the distance as soon as she set foot in the New World, which caused Viridi to wonder why she did not ask to be transported closer to her destination. Once again, she had sacrificed her own comfort and convenience to help the childish princess.

Still, she kept these complaints to herself, as she was fully aware of the fondness Toreii had for the elven princess. Despite the level of help each of them provided for one another being severely lopsided in Viridi's honest opinion, her mother held Vy's minuscule help in high regards. She did not understand in the slightest why her all-knowing mother would ever seek help from someone well below her own intellect.

These grievances continue to plague Viridi's mind as she follows the brown, dirt path. She did not trust these natives, but she trusted her mother. If there was nothing of value to these weak, prehistoric elves, then her mother would have surely moved on. Only when there were positive marginal returns could one take the risk in the decision-making. To Viridi, the numbers simply did not add up; as if she were a banker evaluating a potential borrower, she saw no profits dealing with someone who could not pay off their debts. Even if the elven kingdom was taken as collateral, too many resources would have to be invested before she could see any kind of positive returns.

Voicing these doubts to Toreii would make her no better than the childish princess she chided so openly. Whatever problems the kingdom had, she would have to face them directly, even if she did send one of their princesses to fight their war. As long as she had Vy's memories, dealing with the crown would be nothing more than a formality.

Letting out a tired sigh, she felt her feet become tender from all the walking she was forced to do. Flying straight into an unknown land was just asking to be shot down by an enemy archer, Toreii taught her. She trusted herself to not be ambushed by thieves because Nanami had chosen this specific path for her to travel on. Even if it was out of her way, the safest route was still better than the fastest route.

'_Always have an escape plan; then, an escape plan for your escape plan,'_ Viridi remembered her mother drilling into her and each of her sisters as well.

Going forward with nothing but her blind ambitions, Viridi was ready to face the elven nation.

* * *

**A/N:** I hope you guys are liking this short break from Toreii and Asgard. I'll keep the new world stuff to side characters for now until Thor gets involved. Till then, thanks for reading and being patient with me.


	14. Chapter 14 - Vy's Misadventure, Part 3

Viridi's arrival was not met with the lavish parades for a foreign dignitary she was hoping for. Instead, she was stopped by a scouting party of woodland elves, outfitted in natural camouflage and rudimentary bows. Walking alone with a glowing bouquet of fluorescent flowers instead of a torch made it difficult for Viridi to explain how she got so far within their territories. None of the memories stolen from the elves told her there would be wood elves in the area, let alone one as cautious as they were to a superior being.

Remembering her mission of peace, Viridi agreed to be escorted to the elven kingdom for further questioning. Night had already colored the sky in a murky purple, with blankets of clouds preventing the moonlight from reaching down to the earth. Viridi could see the occasional wary glance sent her way from the night patrollers from the corner of her eyes, unsure of what to make of their findings.

The ancient elf thought Vy's… lack of height was related to her age and race, but Viridi turned out to be also extremely tall when compared to these New World natives. The tallest male hunter within the scouting party barely reached her shoulder in height. It seems her mother once again gifted the ancient elf with superior genes, despite the deity being in a body half of her height.

As Toreii's self-proclaimed representative, Viridi's first job as an envoy was to begin negotiations and foster a friendly relationship should these elves reveal themselves to be of use to her mother. Although she was not received in a way befitting her stature, she hoped the elves within the kingdom were better mannered than the ones she'd encountered… including her 'apprentice'. Negotiations would become very short indeed if the people she was talking to lacked any expected sophistication.

Walking together under the bioluminescent of Viridi's flowers, the other elves continued along in silence. Besides their brief, curious stares, the small elves dared not talk in front of a being who could have been from the heavens themselves. A sweet aroma continued to permeate the air around them, which they deduced originated from the angelic elf; the sweetness was familiar to a spring orchid right before a full blossom. What perplexed the scouting party the most was the intoxicating beauty the unknown stranger had.

Humans thought of elves as pretty… and they're not wrong. They constantly warned themselves not to be arrogant, but how could one be such if what faced them was the truth? Even more, the wood elves had seen the beauty of the 1st and 2nd Princess, who inherited it from the most beautiful being they had ever laid eyes on, the elven queen ― and they thought women couldn't get any more beautiful… at least until now. Unlike the queen, however, whose beauty stemmed from a natural glamour to the eyes, the angelic elf's beauty was a mystical allure. There was constant hesitation on whether or not a direct look upon such a being would give them divine blessing or divine punishment.

Unfazed by the glances, Viridi's heart instead perked up at her first glance of yellow lanterns in the distance. After recognizing their mellow glow, she soon saw the greyish stone behind them as the scouting party finally made it to the outer perimeter of the elven kingdom. Completely unlike the finely chiseled marble of her home, their kingdom's walls were merely flat hardstone meant to withstand a siege, disregarding beauty in search of function.

'_Lowlifes…'_ she grumbled internally. One should always strive for perfection, just like her mother who would've pursued both avenues.

Coming out of the forest and following a well-used path toward a side entrance, a checkpoint with armored guards on duty were waiting for them. A wooden gate which barely reached the top of Viridi's head could be seen, slightly opened, but ready to be closed any moment should the guards be alarmed.

The layout of the castle was quite different from what Vy's memories told her it would be. Instead of a natural fortress of hardened wood for their outer walls, the kingdom had completely upped their security, upgrading them to hardstone and building them around their entire kingdom, not just sensitive areas. The stone walls were not whole, giant slabs of rock, but tiny smaller ones cemented together into three separate rings. The lower ring was only a couple feet above Viridi's head, and this was where she saw soldiers on overwatch and wide enough for patrolling the outer rim in squads of 4. The middle ring, which was well above her height level, was not open like the lower ring was, but curved instead with tiny slits for archers. At the highest ring level, she spotted siege machines on top, ready to launch heavy rocks or other harmful objects onto an invading army.

All in all, it was nothing like the helpless, pathetic elves Vy had made her people out to be. What Viridi got instead was a nation in the middle of a war and clearly one who knew to fortify their defenses for it. The lackadaisical trip she thought she was going on was nowhere in sight now, as she discarded all of her previous plans and instead decided to observe the developing new situation.

One of the scouts signaled for them to stop before heading to the doors and whispered to the guards on duty. Despite the distance and their low voices, Viridi could hear their conversation just as clearly. It seemed the guards were asking the same questions her escorts were when they first met. Although she could have answered their questions with honesty, the mystery surrounding her was the only ticket she could use to head straight to the crown at this point.

"_Send a messenger for the king,"_ were the sweet words Viridi was glad to eavesdrop.

* * *

Viridi was getting really sick and tired of seeing Vy's face, or at least her 'copy-and-pasted' versions of it within the 1st and 2nd Princess. Not only did the apples not fall far from the tree, they could honestly be the same apple for all she knew with these elves. She had thought Vy was misremembering how her siblings looked, but looking back now, perhaps their mother's strong genealogy was the leading cause why the sisters all looked _exactly_ the same.

Initially glad she was rushed to the castle, but her hopes were quickly dashed as soon as she was locked in this room with Vy's siblings and not the elf king. Although she heard soft bickering from inside the bed chamber before entering, it was all silence now as both princesses got a look at the urgent matter which could not wait until sunrise.

Peering around what she guessed was one of their bed chambers, it was more modern than the sticks and twigs she thought the elves lived in. The living tree from which a castle was built by hollowing its trunk was no longer there, replaced by a more defensible stone castle. Viridi's feet were chilled by the unheated bricks. Around the room were bookcases and dressers aplenty, with portraits and maids galore ― Viridi knew for certain the prestige of the people assessing her.

3 porcelain tea cups were lightly wafting the air with its hot steamy tea, yet none of the guests it was poured for reached for it. Just like the other elves her mother saved, it seemed Viridi was cast in an aura of admiration by everyone surrounding her ― not that she minded in the slightest. The single maid which brought and poured the tea did so with trembling hands, almost spilling every last drop. However, before a mess could be made, one of the princesses ― 1st or 2nd… Viridi could not tell ― dismissed the sacred server while the other locked the doors.

Wanting to be the polite guest she was, Viridi accepted the tea as a sign she trusted them enough to not poison her, even though her racial skills gave immunity to poison anyways. Before taking the first sip, she gently blew on the murky, light brown brew, giving it a brief smell test as well. Of course, as always, the tea was around par at best — she should have expected as much from these natives —but not only that, some of the leaves were burned when one of the maids poured the hot water too quickly, leaving a bitter aftertaste for its drinker.

'_This is the worst tea I have ever had,'_ she silently noted. As the designated tea grower and brewer in their family, she found solace from their sisterly bickering in the unusual hobby. If there was anything she could be proud of and contend with her mother with, it was her herbology skillset.

"Lovely tea. Thank you very much for showing me with such great hospitality," Viridi cheerfully lied, trying to lift the awkward mood. Sitting across from one of the young princesses, she felt their couch was very cushiony, meant for a soft and easy lifestyle.

"The pleasure is all ours. My name is Ashula Nir Nythymyr, 2nd Princess of the Elven Kingdom of Gallahan," she introduced, holding her hand against her chest. Dressed in a cozy midnight-blue nightie, the heterochromia of her eyes shone the same bright red and purple of her younger sister's.

"And I am Saphira Nir Nythymyr, 1st Princess and 1st daughter of King Bilfir Lyur Nythymyr and Queen Oonya Nir Faeyer. May we be privy to your name, noble angel?" the elf behind Viridi asked, and the one who locked the door.

"My name in your tongue would be 'Viridi'," the ancient elf answered, further surrounding herself in a veil of otherworldly presence. "My mother has caught wind of your war, and I have been sent to be a mediator with the victor."

Quickly absorbing what they just heard, a sisterly link between the two princesses form instantly as they both formulated what to do next and how to work off of each other. Slowly making her way to where her sister sat, the 1st Princess looked directly into the angel's eyes, "Does your presence here mean you expect a victory in our favor?"

"My presence here allows me to directly see who will come out victorious. If this kingdom falls, surely, will I not be where the final battle is?" Viridi answered. Though she was sure her mother would want an elven victory, Viridi was not ready to give handouts so easily.

Taking only a brief second to formulate another retort, this time the 2nd Princess chimed in, "The same could also be said if our great kingdom withstands their last siege. Would our city not also be the first place to celebrate the victory of our long war?"

"Perhaps so from a certain point of view," Viridi smiled with a bubbly giggle.

Both sisters remained rigid despite the warm air the ancient elf tried to exude, as they both gasped when they saw a wild vine grow straight out of the hardstone flooring. The green stem lifted itself through the stone as if it was butter and bloomed a bright yellow flower right next to the mysterious, angelic elf. Sitting back in bewilderment, the princesses watched as each petal slowly fell onto Viridi's waiting hand, but snapped back to attention at her sweet, captivating voice.

"How interesting. So _that_ is the nature of your war," Viridi said suddenly. The yellow petals slowly wilted away into crusty brown mush in her hand before finally crumbling to dust. The plants she sent out had finally completed its survey of the army waiting to topple the elven kingdom, or so she thought. When Vy's memories of the castle and the actual castle did not match up, she had sent another wave of her plants to gather more information about the nation, but to her surprise, she found more than just the forest elves she was expecting.

"Whatever do you mean?" Saphira gingerly asked. The unexpected vine was definitely the angel's magic at work. She was no stranger to forest or woodland elves gaining special affinity with the plants around them, but it would always be in tandem with what the plant was capable of. To suddenly see a vine grow through their stone floor and to somehow give the elven-angel information from mere petals left her in disbelief.

Without breaking their line of sight, Viridi was still all smiles, appearing without ulterior motives. "An alliance among the remaining elven tribes and kingdoms, as well as support from the nearby human kingdoms. No wonder your castle wasn't made of wood and dirt. Perhaps there is worth coming here, after all."

Hearing words they would normally reserve for their serfs, they held back their tongue against the unknown being. Still, their pride and kingdom were just insulted, as if they were nothing more than commoners, so Ashula reprimanded the stranger, "Please forgive my forwardness, as I have forgiven yours, but _you_ currently sit without _our_ kingdom. We barely know your name or your worth, so please reserve your words and show the respect a princess deserves."

Waiting patiently and mercifully for the mortal elf to finish her proud speech, Viridi stood up slowly and faced the single door to the room. Once again, a golden sigil magicked itself to life on the back of her hand with the slits of the wooden glowing in a similar bright gold beam toward them. Behind her, the two royal elves were aware enough to back away from the unknown situation unfolding before them, as they stood several feet away, ready to fire off an offensive spell.

As the golden light died down, the previously locked door slowly crept open. The soft footsteps of flats on stone floors could be heard as the 1st and 2nd Princess watched a maid enter their room. Thinking one of their servants had unknowingly barged in upon eavesdropping this meeting, Saphira stepped forward… only to stop in her tracks when her eyes widened upon getting a clear look at the draconic eyes staring her down.

Respectfully bowing to her master, a second set of footsteps followed closely behind the dragon maid. Sidestepping to be beside Gratia, Vy quickly followed her example, bowing respectfully to the elf-god. Looking at her faithful dragonoid, Viridi softly muttered, "There has been a change in plans. Gratia, would you kindly secure the room?"

"Of course, my lady." Raising from her bow, the frills of her clean, white apron wavered as Gratia made her way to the doors of the balcony. Scanning the entirety of the room with her dragon-eyes, the only thing which would cause any scrutiny would be the pair of elves cautiously watching her. Not wanting to dirty her tail having just washed it up, the narrow and scaly appendage felt the air for anything strange.

"As for you…" Viridi said in a gentle tone. The ex-princess's body stood stiff, head kept low as the young elf clearly recognized where she was. Although the pair behind her were distraught at the sudden appearance of an angelic elf, followed by worry and concern for their kingdom at the entrance of a dragonoid within the heart of their homeland… worst of all, they paled in color at the familiar figure appearing out of nowhere.

"T-That's not possible…" the ancient elf heard behind her, "that's not… not p-possible… father said… he told us… HE TOL-"

**\- SLAP!**

"Remember your position," Saphira enunciated to her wailing sibling.

A sharp, hard clap of skin-on-skin drew Viridi's attention away from the elfling who dared not dismiss her bow. The 2nd Princess was trembling with eyes as wide as she could possibly open. Her cream-colored cheek was covered by her hand, but around it, tender redness began to form around her skin. Saphira looked coldly at her sibling, tenderly holding her hand as if it hurt her just as much to slap some sensibility back to Ashula. Silence followed, with both sisters glaring at one another, each of them unable to concede.

Having wasted so much of her time on the dysfunctional family already, Viridi returned her attention to the main source of her troubles and spoke directly to the third princess, "Vy Nir Nythymyr. Can you confirm the identities of the two other elves in this room for me?"

Given her first set of orders since arriving, a cold shock ran down her spine as the demigod spoke her full name. "They are the first and second princesses of Gallahan, Saphira and Ashula, respectively."

At the very least, she knew for sure she was in the company of the crown. Under her watchful gaze, Viridi noticed the slightest of peaks from her lowly apprentice. Small shifts in her stance showed the agitation welling inside the small child, which further confirmed the sibling's relationship. Turning back to the duo, a swift wave of her hand made Vy obediently follow behind, as the ancient elf slowly sauntered to the pair.

Coming out as a whisper, Ashula looked to the perfectly healthy elven child and asked, "I-Is it really you V-Vy…? It's been almost… 20 years… I… I thought the worst had happened. Father… He… Mot-her a-and y-you…" The same heterochromatic eyes their bloodline shared, red and purple, filled with tears from the second princess as she stumbled forward, completely ignoring Viridi without a second thought.

Caught off guard by her long-lost sister, Vy yelped in surprise when Ashula yanked her closer for a full body embrace. She did not leave on bad terms with her sisters, but in the presence of a demigod, Vy was scared of the lack of respect her elder siblings showed toward Viridi. Seeing first-hand the absolute command Viridi wields over all plant life, she should have gestured for her sisters to bow to the elven god.

"Please, get a hold of yourself, Ashula, this is not a time for tears," Vy begged her sniffling sister.

"By all means, see to the comfort of your sister, Princess Vy. I'm sure your words have more power here than mine," Viridi said with a cheerful beam.

There was sarcasm… and then there was Viridi; alarm bells chimed endlessly every time Vy saw the happy façade, as she knew it veiled the scorn of an almighty god behind it. Gently nudging Ashula from her deathly embrace, she spoke as calmly as she could under the fright of a divine being. "Ashula, Saphira, please excuse my curtness, but if Lady Viridi has business in our kingdom, then we should consider that as our highest priority."

Arms folded on her chest, Saphira stood back unimpressed by the demigod or the sudden appearance of her lost younger sibling. "If it's truly you, Vy, then you have clearly forgotten your place and duty to our kingdom. Any foreign power in our kingdom are _guests,_ and any attempt to undermine the King's rule will be seen as a treacherous crime, including _you,_ Vy."

For once, Viridi felt uncomfortable to be around others, especially now, in the middle of a family argument she was not even a part of. She did not outright hate Vy; the young elfling was more of an annoyance if anything, but it seems there was bad blood from within the royal line itself. Squabbling among siblings was practically a pastime for Viridi and her younger sisters, but never once had they ever gone so far as to threaten each other with implied death. Once or twice, there might have been a threat serious enough to tattle to their mother, but their sisterhood was strong enough to overcome the urge. Sitting among the drama of Vy's family had given the ancient elf new appreciation for her understanding siblings.

Standing tall once more, the second princess took a forefront protective stance as a shield for Vy, quickly situating her younger sister behind. A continued stare down between Ashula and Saphira ensued, with Vy switching off between staring at one sister and another like a ball bouncing back and forth across a court. "I hear your implications, Saphira, but I wish to not misunderstand your intentions. Our youngest sister, which we thought was dead for the last 20 years, has shown herself to be healthy and sound of mind, but your first actions are to remind her of her shackles? Have you not thought about why she disappeared in the first place?" Ashula questioned with all the regal she could muster after wiping her joyful tears.

"Am I to remind you once again, **we are in the middle of a war**? Impostor or not, anything which will jeopardize our father's power now will unravel all he had built to protect us! Look around! An elf with the wings of an angel and our sister who we thought was dead for 20 years suddenly show up? Your willful ignorance is what led to us needing to help from outsiders!" The eldest shouted with mounting fury in her voice and stance.

From the corner of her eyes, Vy watched as Gratia procured a pink handkerchief from her apron and covered her nose and mouth with it. Just like before, the overly-sweet scent of flowers filled Vy's nose, as she realized the ancient elf had released more sleep toxins into the air. However, unlike before, Vy only suffered from a mild case of fatigue, whereas both her older sisters immediately lost their motor controls, softly falling onto the stone floor and snoring along the way. Whatever Viridi had given Vy, it was enough to lessen the full effects of her chemical warfare. Gratia had moved swiftly into position to catch the first princess, while Vy struggled to slow the second's descent.

"I have promised my mother I would help you, Princess Vy, but I made no such promise about your kingdom or any of the elves here," Viridi proclaimed, sipping on the now-lukewarm tea and wincing honestly at the inferior taste, now that she no longer had to put up any formalities.

Vy immediately understood what her magic teacher was hinting at, but the best she could do was to placate the superior being in charge of her. "Please, Lady Viridi, don't place fault on my sisters. A lot has been shouldered by them ever since my mother disappeared, and also… I am too partly to blame for their distrust of outsiders. They don't understand your might as I have learned to!"

Gratia was silently moving both sleeping bodies onto the large center bed, with a stand carved from likely a large oak. Growing accustomed to her master's special scents, she no longer needed a signal from Viridi as a warning. There was a reason she had bathed the soot-smelling child in unscented soap earlier, as she needed all of her draconic senses to detect the airborne spores before anyone else.

"To think your memories were 20 years out of date…" grumbled Viridi under her breath. By morning, her plants should have scouted the entirety of the kingdom, giving her an accurate headcount. Since the beginning of their trip, several of her other plants have been scouting the orc army, but due to their size, many of her flours and vines were trampled on. Everywhere the orcs went, deforestation followed, causing her more troubles to get an accurate view of what was marching toward them. Still, the most important piece of information had just been delivered, which was enough to get her an audience with the king himself.

"What exactly do you want me to do, Princess Vy? I count at least 10 million orcs marching their way to beat down your doors, and your father stands with humans and dwarves barely at a fighting force of 2 million. My home cannot fit 2 million refugees," Viridi clearly reminded the elfling. Although these were rough numbers being put on the table, she kept it a secret that anyone from Yggdrasil above Level 70 would not even get enough experience points for a level up after clearing said entire army of low-level orcs.

Standing headstrong and eager, Vy looked unwaveringly at her mentor, "Teach me the 7th Tier!"

'_You're 20 levels too early to be having this conversation with me,'_ Viridi silently thought to herself. Having learned to still her tongue, she bottled her frustration at her student who kept wanting to skip ahead. Sending Vy directly into the horde would eventually net more experience for levels, but with such a low mana capacity, the elfling was never going to make the 3-day deadline she set for herself.

Thinking hard and long, Viridi pictured a diagram inside her mind, filling it with reasons on what needed to have precedence. Although she would like to secure a stable relation with the elven kingdom, she ultimately promised her mother to teach Vy magic. Several plans were crossed out in her mind, leading her to ponder on how to best get the elfling as much experience as possible in the quickest amount of time. All of the Noble Sisters were born into their mother's arms at the full Level 100, which meant any knowledge Viridi had for gaining levels was solely from passing conversation with Toreii. Watching from afar, Viridi knew her mother's specialty was finding the most efficient and cost-effective way to solve her problems, or 'min-maxing', as Toreii put it.

Stitching together patches of knowledge she gathered here and there from her mother made it difficult to exactly pinpoint how she was going to level such a weak elfling with no combat spells at her command. Given it only took her mother 6 hours to completely recover an astronomical amount of mana befitting of a perfect god, the short rest Vy had surely allowed her to be back to fighting strength. However, going forward, it would be harder and harder to amass experience points as each level up reduced the amount one can receive. Unless she found bigger and more powerful creatures for Vy to beat on until it died, killing orcs would take _years_ for the elf child to finally reach level 40, let alone perform the 7th Tier.

Seeing as there were at least 10 million bodies to slay, Viridi would have to resort to one of her mother's great treasures given to them for safekeeping. Unfortunately, she was not the current holder of said treasure, as it was her next oldest sibling who was its protector. There were small pains to her current ad-libbed plan; sharing the glory she sought only for herself was the greatest hurdle keeping her from contacting her sister, but also owing a favor to her sister would lead to nothing but blackmail down the line. They were all competitors for their mother's love ― cutthroat, even ― so any advantage was a game of inches for all of them.

Looking back to her waiting apprentice, Viridi could not help but let out a restless sigh of defeat. Despite all the mulling and planning she had done, she was not left with very many choices after. Her foremost priority was to teach Vy magic, which meant she needed experience as fast as possible. Slowly raising her hand to hear ear, she expelled some of her mana for [Message].

"Nanami? Can you do me a favor? Do you mind waking up Eos? Yes, now. I know… I know…"

* * *

**Day 2**

**~Thud! ~Thud! ~Thud!**

Like her namesake, Eos exited the misty forest just before the break of dawn. The heavy, yet sleek black chromia armor she wore was not even a burden for her strength, but left visible sunken footprints behind her as well as loud footsteps. From head to toe, the shiny black armor covered her entire body, as if she was meant to hide within the darkness if it were not for her lack of stealth skills. The vantablack absorbed any kind of light, making her figure like a walking shadow. At her waist was a black scabbard hiding a curved blade, which seemed particularly small compared to her large and overwhelming warrior stature. Morning dew glistened on her metal armor, as each step sent tremors powerful enough to shake droplets onto the dirt below.

Just as Viridi was designed to be an anti-spellcaster tank, Toreii had designed her second daughter to fulfill the role of a frontline drain tank. Boasting the highest physical defense, second highest magical defense and resistance among her sisters, Eos's only offensive option against other frontline warriors and tanks was her race's special ability once leveled to 50. As a living fragment of one of the outer gods, akin to how Viridi was born from one of Yggdrasil's roots, Eos' birth came about from a [Yidhra].

From her beta testing days, Ai was playing a completely different game which would eventually become Yggdrasil. Instead of the Nordic themes throughout the entire game, the beta was about several dozen gods and cultures vying for dominance over the land. The beta's true purpose was to deduce the most popular gods and background and create a full game around them. With a plethora of different gods to choose from, Toreii was created with a Shinto background, but she did take inspiration from the other gods for her daughters. Along the way, the outer gods were added, but their popularity was minimal due to the hideous nature of some of their gods. Even though Viridi was the eldest among the Noble Sisters, Eos was created almost a decade beforehand, during the time of the closed beta.

The [Yidhra] race had a special passive skill unlocked upon reaching Level 50, which allowed Eos to take 50% reduced damage from the same spell, attack, or skill, making it harder and harder to take her down in a prolonged team fight. Combined with the special job class, [Asura], Eos was a walking titan who dealt more damage the more she took. The downside of all her defensive stats was her lackluster agility, gaining her a reputation of a walking fortress among her sisters. To make up for her lack of mobility, Ai equipped Eos with a special crossover item, [Crissaegrim]. Having sunk a fortune into Yggdrasil's gacha loot pool, Ai almost cried on the spot after gaining such an elusive weapon. The cash items in Yggdrasil were very much pay-to-win, as permanent stat upgrades were among the most expensive items bought. With the silver vampiric sword in hand, [Crissaegrim] made up for Eos' lack of dexterity, as the special ability of the sword created 6 additional strikes for every one the user swung.

Only after coming to Asgard and securing herself a plentiful stock of Uru metal was Ai able to finish the vantablack armor. Dubbed [W.C. Armor Mrk. III], she created a series of armor using the Uru metal, trying her best to recreate the World Champion armor she previously declined. One of the more defensive models was given to Eos as a placeholder until she got around to finishing her NPCs, but Ai was lacking in her memory department by forgetting she never actually gave Eos the finished article.

Approaching her blonde 'older' sister, Eos' armor hid the enormous smile she wore at the thought of gaining a favor from the eldest among them. Outside of a bleak grey castle, very contrast to the warm, colorful forest nearby, she saw 5 figures standing by, among them were elves with a draconic maid at the ready. Each heavy step forward made not just the ground tremble, but also the two new elves standing with her sister.

Finally coming to her aid, Viridi counted the last seconds of freedom before her younger sibling held this favor over her head for the next several weeks to come. "Good morning, Eos. I hope waking up this early isn't destroying your nightlife," the eldest Noble Sister greeted.

"Anything for my oldest sister. I didn't believe my ears when I heard you needed my help," Eos happily replied back, relishing the owed favor. The other elves looked in shock at Eos being over a head taller in height than even the tall angelic elf.

"Welcome to Gallahan, home of the Nythymyrs," said Vy, bowing to the black knight, taking a good educated guess all of Viridi's siblings were godkin as well. Behind her, Saphira and Ashula were not as used to Toreii's strange family. A black figure walking out of the forest with thundering steps seemed more like a sign of death to them than a living relative of an angelic elf.

Viridi stood in front of the cowering princesses, not minding them in the slightest. Despite explaining as best she could what her intentions were to them, only Vy seemed unfazed by her sister's appearance. Only getting a couple hours of rest, she missed the peaceful nights of just her and her younger sisters, uninterrupted by noisy, needy elves. "This is my… ahem, _apprentice_: Princess Vy. Since you never leave your room, I believe this is the first time you two have met."

Completely missing Viridi's tired annoyance, Vy was proud to be called an apprentice to a godly being. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Eos. I can't thank your family enough for what it has done for me. Gallahan will know of your names and the greatness of your prowess," Vy said with practiced elegance.

Saphira glared coldly at the child claiming to be her long-lost sister, wondering how a member of her own family could sweetly talk about giving praise to another house — no, not even well-known elven house, just some random strangers who showed up out of nowhere but looked the part of gods. None of their mannerism bespoke of a heavenly upbringing nor the indifference many of the humans described their gods with. In front of her were nothing but imposters who happen to know a few tricks with magic, that's all. The heavenly wings of Viridi was probably nothing more than for show, as she doubted angels could consummate with mortal beings in the first place.

Right beside her, Ashula had the opposite reaction, as she inched closer and closer to her younger sibling who could so easily talk to beings confident enough to call themselves gods.

"Such kindness, Princess Vy, very much unlike my dear sister here," Eos said in the most cheerful tone she could muster to get the best reaction out of Viridi; they _were_ sisters, after all.

"Ahh… now that's the sister I remember growing up with," Viridi quickly snapped back, finding herself already peeved so early in the day, "First to speak, but last to think. Oh, how I miss our lack of conversation."

"Yet here we are," Eos reminded her sister, swinging her arm to show the entirety of the situation Viridi had gotten herself into with the elves. "Perhaps being the first to think has gotten you into something you can't handle?"

The deathly glare Viridi shot her sister was enough to send a cold shiver down Vy's spine as she bore witness to the ongoing rivalry within Toreii's family. There was a mandated hierarchy she and her siblings followed, as the first born was always given the most respect and dignity. That was not even close to being the case in Toreii's family, as she saw how freely Eos jumped at the chance to personally verbally attack her elder sister. Although she saw tidbits of elegance and respect for command from Viridi, it really was a free-for-fall when it came to these siblings.

Staying calm and collected as she always did, Viridi was already done with the conversation, but unlike the cowering elves behind her, her plants could not be used so easily on a being with as high a resistance as her titan sister. "I'll be sure to tell Mother of your helpful nature when this is all over. For now, please take Vy with you. We don't have much time."

Trying to be as overly flamboyant as she could, Eos faked a respectful bow, answering in the most sarcastic tone she usually reserved only for her older sister, "Your wish is my command."

Vy now firmly believed her own family problems were completely approachable compared to Toreii's.

* * *

**A/N:** Hopefully I didn't make you guys wait too long this time. I'm still exploring the New World and thought Vy's perspective was important in that matter. We'll be back to Toreii soon after.


	15. Chapter 15 - Vy's Misadventure, Part 4

Getting almost no wink of sleep the previous night, Vy was in shambles trying to explain to her two older sisters what had happened to her in the last two decades. Their window to catch-up was brief ― almost nonexistent, even ― since it was mostly Ashula who was worried about Vy's health. She understood the burden her eldest sister shouldered after their mother's disappearance, as she watched the once bright and cheerful 1st Princess grow more and more distant. The shoes their mother left unfilled was something she wished Saphira should not push herself to fill.

Since leaving her two siblings behind, she regretted not talking more with them beforehand. There was the _slightest_ chance she would not see them again, perhaps, for the rest of their long lives, and to leave on silent unspoken words between her and Saphira pained her young heart. Even the sibling disarray between Viridi and her own sisters was something the elfling wished the three siblings had. The formal structure of her family line stripped away any chance of any of them ever having a relationship resembling that of true siblings.

Viridi and Gratia were to stay in the capital with her sisters until Eos and Vy returned, although the extent of the ancient elf's plan was something she wished she knew more of. Traveling blindly through the forest was not the fastest way, especially now with the heavy armored titan leaving footprints in the bare dirt. Thankfully, as soon as their view of the elven castle was obscured with leaves, the familiar deep purple irises filled the corners of Vy's eyes.

"Good morning, Eos, Princess Vy," Nanami greeted, concealing herself within the shadow of a tall tree.

Even with the dark vision gifted to her through the magical equipment, Vy could barely make out the coloration of the youngest Noble Sister. The usually silent girl was practically a walking ghost as far as she knew. During her brief stay within the Parthenon, under direct light of the artificial sun, Nanami's presence was more akin to a phantom ― only there to observe, but not to be seen.

"Good morning, Lady Nanami," Vy replied with a respectful bow. A brief silence followed for an entire minute of just Vy keeping her head bowed, waiting for any kind of acknowledgement.

"Hahaha!" Eos snorted as she lightly slapped the elfling's back in surprise. "Don't take it the wrong way, princess Vy. Our baby sister isn't much of a talker. I'm surprised she even remembers your name!"

The sudden jolt caused Vy to fumble forward, losing all of her regal composure. There was no verbal confirmation from the violet irises staring her down, so she took the strangeness as a result of Toreii's disappearance at some time during their upbringing. Trying to understand the slightest bit of what Viridi's grand plan was for her and the oncoming orc army, she started with a small question, "I'm afraid Lady Viridi has not said much to me in terms of what she expects me to accomplish in these next two days. What exactly am I to do with you, Lady Eos?"

"Ah, I see now. That sounds exactly how my big sis usually is when it comes to these kinds of things," Eos explained through countless experiences. "Trust me when I say _everything_ is on a need-to-know basis with my sister, and no one but _her_ needs to know. I'm just along for the ride… and to make her as miserable as possible for the next couple of weeks," the hulking titan laughed through her thick armor.

The unusual backtalk between siblings was new to Vy, as she never thought about disrespecting her older sisters in such a manner. Eos' casual ease in which she can fire off as many mean things to say about Viridi made Vy unsure of what to make of the godly bloodline. Even through the brilliant façade of heavenly demeanor, the childish squabbling she saw now between Viridi and Eos made her realize the faint humanity remaining in each of the demigods.

"I've located the foremost front of the alliance. I can take you two there now," Nanami softly replied after a short pause.

"I'm ready when you are, Princess Vy," Eos said. She reached out with an open hand ― one large enough for the other three girls to stand on with comfortable spacing remaining ― welcoming the young elf.

In a complete 180° turn from the usually hostile and rushed attitude Viridi always showed her, Eos was not only friendlier, but also made a nice change in pace. Taking the titan's gloved hand in good gesture, she felt her cheeks burn rosy like she was being whisked away by a knight in shining armor.

For the briefest moments, she thought she was back in another fairytale.

* * *

Expecting the eerily sudden but usual flash of purple light before being teleported, Vy was unprepared for Nanami's method of transportation with the sigils. Whereas the [Greater Teleportation] felt more like she was moving in place, whatever method Nanami was using caused Vy's ears to pop from the shift in airspace. With both hands on her pointy ears to recover some semblance of her enhanced hearing, her eyes tried to compensate by quickly gathering as much information about her new surroundings.

Under the low glow of candle light, orange was spread across every surface she saw. A makeshift wood table was placed in the center of the room, but it was missing the stone floor she expected of a normal room she's used to. A pair of leather boots, covered with patches of dried mud, was the first thing Vy noticed. The second one was the fact their new surrounding was a leather tent, something propped up in an army's campsite. Her eyes followed up along the boots' owner's body, revealing the visage of a grizzled old elf, draped in commanding, fine clothing fit for a leader.

Vertigo still rang loud in her ears, but her eyes locked with a pair of heterochromatic eyes: a pair of red and purple just like hers.

"Where have you taken us, Nanami?" Eos questioned near the front entrance of the tent.

"I was tracking the alliance, and this was the best I could do in a couple of hours. I believe this is the leader of the elven part of the alliance," Nanami said, trying not to disappoint her older sister. "Viridi needs me for another assignment ― a missing person, I think. If you need anything, just [Message] Viridi."

The sibling's conversation went into Vy's deaf ears as her entire focus was still on the old elf with his hands sprawled across the table covered with parchments and maps. Her mind raced against itself, gears twisting and turning madly in a destabilizing machine, as she tried her hardest to realize the identity of the man before her.

"**Alert the garrison! There are assassins in the King's quarters! QUICKLY!"**

Eos heard shouting outside of the tent she was transported to, as she rescanned the room if there were others there beside herself and Vy. Given Nanami's tactful nature to be perfect, she doubted anything could have gotten past her younger sister's watchful eyes and ears. Too focused on her current mission to search for assassins, she failed to notice the soldiers outside of the tent preparing to stab her with her pointed spears, as they thought her figure fit the description of a _de facto_ assassin.

**~Clink! ~Clink!**

Two of the metal points bent and the shafts shattered under the driving force of the elves who wielded them, but the black armor protecting Eos neither budged nor produce any sparks from the metal-on-metal contact. Just like her armor, the titan did not even bother to give a reaction to the elven guards behind her, still continuing to ponder who the assassin was and who the king was.

"[Lightning]!" The King's guards shouted from outside. Twin arcs of blue lightning crackled through the air from the fingertips of the elven guards, aiming directly at the black, armored being blocking the entrance to their King's tent.

Striking dead center, what should have been an effective attack against metal armor and leaving two smoldering white-hot holes… instead was no more effective than a basic static shock. The vantablack armor was left unschathed, without a single blemish on its chromatic shine and its user none the wiser of her attackers. The elven guards looked onward, still waiting in disbelief their attack had no effect whatsoever.

Back in the tent, Eos, like water on a duck's back, had not even felt the attacks. Having been born with such high resistances and the tankiest gear Toreii could equip a frontliner, she also had spell damage negation against anything below the 6th-Tier. As Viridi sometimes liked to call her sister, Eos was very much a one-track mind kind of girl, only able to give her full attention to one thing at a time. Completely unaware of what her sister's apprentice was staring at or how she was reacting, only the sound of the other person in the room got her attention started again.

"My daughter…? Vy…?" The raspy King mumbled.

"Hmm…?" Eos asked to herself.

* * *

The duo walked in silence towards the battlefield, a towering titan and a young elf child in tow. Since leaving the campsite of the alliance, Eos had not heard even the tiniest peep from Vy. Although she was unsure what caused it, she knew enough it was about the strange man standing in the tent with them when her younger sister warped them. Without looking down at the young girl beside her, Eos humbly asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Using her years of experience under a royal upbringing, Vy easily masked her inner turmoil without letting it affect her voice, "Whatever do you mean, Lady Eos?"

"I live with 3 other sisters, Princess Vy, one of whom _thinks_ she's a better liar than she actually is; I'm also an older sister. I know when something is troubling Nanami, even if she doesn't say it ― and I assure you, she is better at hiding things than anyone else," the old god interjected with her overflowing optimism.

After spending most of her time with Toreii's family dealing with Viridi, the sudden change in demeanor between demigods was jarring. To think these people were somehow related to one another made Vy's head spin. From Toreii, to Viridi, and now Eos, not only did each of these apples fall far from the tree, but they might as well be oranges or bananas for all she knew.

Although Ashula was always protective over her, Vy was never brave enough to openly talk about her troubles with others. The social prison of being the Third Princess always made her keep the appearance of a perfect family, always smiling and being the obedient girl she was taught to be. Now, she understood why Toreii was not revered by any modern-day government. The deity's entire bloodline had defiance written into their genealogy, never obeying any kind of social norm.

Mulling over what to say, she had learned to drop the formalities around Toreii, but had to reapply her manners with Viridi. In the presence of Eos, like the warmth of the rising sun, Vy certainly felt infinitely more comfortable with _this_ demigod. The titan kept to formalities only because Vy was also keeping to them, but she was kind enough to respect Vy's wishes and privacy. Despite her otherworldly origin, Eos was by far the easiest and most welcoming of the gods she had met.

Letting out the silent words she practiced a thousand times inside her mind, she finally was able to vent her frustrations onto the world, "The old elf in the tent with us… He's my… father," Vy admitted with a sigh. Eyes downcast, her shoulders felt lighter with every word, "I thought… he would say _something_… **anything**… but I guess my father will always be my father. When I heard… of my… _death_… I didn't realize being declared dead meant _he just stopped looking_."

Each word was spat out bitterly as Eos continued to listen as attentive as she could. Never once has she had a problem with her mother, nor had she ever felt a day where her mother would ever neglect or abandon any of the Noble Sisters. Unable to speak from experience, the best she could do was to lend an ear to the child who no one seemed to listen to. "I'm sorry about your father's… attitude," she tried to console.

"Don't be; he clearly isn't sorry either," Vy coldly said back. The palms of her hand were clenched shut with each fingernail unknowingly digging in her skin. There were many things she wanted to say to him and many more she wanted to hear _from_ him. She thought the sight of a long-lost daughter might have invoked some kind of parental instinct in the elven king, but she was sorely mistaken.

"Perhaps not today, or tomorrow, or the day after that," Eos said, agreeing with the child's grief, "but cities and towns and feelings people have for each other are not built within days. It took many years for me to be able to achieve the level of pettiness my sister and I share for one another," she joked, trying to lighten the mood. "However, without Viridi, I wouldn't be who I am today. Without Viridi… I would have no one to prank or fight with or have fun with. Although our sibling fights are petty and childish compared to what you and your father have, I know you're not the type to hold onto a grudge forever. People grow and change; I'm sure if you saw yourself a month ago, would you not say you have grown in the slightest amount?"

Listening to the demigod's words, Vy slowly shifted her attention away from the hate surrounding her father and looked back at herself. A month ago, she could barely hold together her band of elves running away from the orc invasion. Each day was a struggle to keep everyone safe, and ultimately, she _did_ fail to protect her people. If not for Toreii's divine intervention, she would have found herself nothing more than a lowly slave sold to the highest lecherous bidder. The days she spent in the Parthenon were by far the most amount of peace and happiness she had seen in a long time, but she knew those days would not last forever. In the last day alone, Vy had transformed from a peaceful scholar to a seasoned executioner in such a short span of time.

"I guess I have," Vy said, after taking some time to think.

When the duo left the makeshift outpost of the alliance, spears, swords, hammers and magic were fully aimed – and a lot of them launched – at Eos, but Vy watched carefully as the demigod did not even bother to give the armed guards a second from her time of day. Although she would like to believe they were not attacked because her father had ordered everyone not to, she knew better than to doubt the divine presence Toreii's children carried themselves with. What she _did_ doubt was her father's remaining affection for her – would he have stopped the attacks if she came alone unannounced?

On the way out, Vy saw dwarves, elves, humans, and other humanoid races throughout the campsite. Despite their racial differences, it seemed everyone had gathered under the same banner to push back against the invading horde.

Still, it was more than just Eos walking the walk. Vy saw the indestructible nature of the abyssal armor the massive titan adorned. If she could compare the demigod to anything, it would be like watching a gentle giant ― or, more precisely, a walking mountain of godly proportion. After quickly leaving her father's tent, she saw several dozen [Fireball] and [Lightning] fired simultaneously at her guardian. Any normal person would have been dead when the first spell made contact, and an experienced warrior would've thought of a way to minimize damage instead of counter attacking… but for Eos, she simply stood idly on standby. Facing all of her attacker's spells head-on, every second afterwards were tense for the elven guards on duty. Believing she would also get hit with the residual effects of their spells, Vy had thrown herself behind Eos, trusting the immortal nature of the demigod.

Like she had internally said before, Eos didn't even register she _was_ being attacked. Instead, she looked like a lost child taking in her new surroundings, innocently scanning around and not taking even her father with the slightest iota of respect.

For whatever reason Vy had yet to understand, the titan was immune to practically any form of magical attacks flying her way. Although their pace to get out of the camp was slow, the elven guards pursuing them realized the fruitlessness of wasting mana on a being who did not even care about their meager performance. Vy was still in awe at the prowess of Toreii's daughters, wondering if she might have overstepped herself in the deity's own home. Even if all of her daughters were only half-gods, their powers and strange magic far surpassed anything her mortal eyes had ever seen.

Trekking on slowly along the dirt path, the trees surrounding them thinned more and more the further along they travelled. It was not by normal means which caused the number of trees to dwindle, but instead, Vy saw the timber cut roughly at the base, chopped down, with trails in the dirt where logs were dragged away nearby. Their pace slows down to a full stop when Eos stands at attention, looking forward to the distance.

"We are almost there, Princess Vy," Eos said. "I think… It's going to be 10 million vs. _two_? I'm liking these odds."

The nonchalant and enthusiasm in Eos voice made Vy think twice about whether the titan was joking. She had heard of dragons slaughtering armies in the hundreds of thousands, but for a demigod to fight several kingdoms' worth of able-bodied warriors had Vy second-guessing herself. Even with her elven age, she doubted she could ever meet a million different people, let alone 10 million! Vy knew very little about Toreii's bloodline, or plainly about gods for that matter, but surely, if dragons had their limit… gods did too?

Time to mull it over was cut short as Eos reached out to a black void, similar to what she saw Toreii and Viridi do, as Vy watched her pull out a small brownish cup, certainly ceramic in nature. Patches of lighter brown showed its original color, but due to age it had almost completely faded away as Eos handed it to the elf child for closer inspection. In her eyes, it was nothing more than a normal cup ― perhaps more suitable for a beggar than an actual relic ― certainly something she was surprised someone of godhood would have in their possession.

"This is one of the great treasures entrusted to me from my mother," Eos proudly explained, remembering the day Toreii dumped her inventory onto the NPCs to make room for more material gathering. "It can take in and hold the strength and power of those fallen in battle around you."

Although her daughters thought the world of her, Toreii had unloaded many of her unnecessary items onto her 'living bank spaces' without giving it much thought. "_They're just NPCs anyway,"_ she used to think before _this world_ happened. Every one of them believed the deity to be a supreme being, thus the action was akin to giving them all valuable treasures to safeguard, but in reality, it was very much the items and materials Ai was too lazy to sort through at the moment.

The brownish cup… it was a consolation prize for when she rolled to get Eos' [Crissaegrim]. Several dozen paychecks were spent trying to get this singular item, with Ai eventually having to dip into her grant money from the university to satiate her addiction to playing Yggdrasil. In the end, this simple chalice was no more than one among several hundreds of similar consolation prizes.

The only reason she kept it around was because it was a dollar store brand version of [Avarice and Generosity]. Unlike the World Class item, the brown chalice could only hold experience points from low level creatures, up to 5 levels at a time. Since she did not have a great way to store exp for spells which would actually cost her levels, these shitty chalices were the best solution Ai happened upon.

Vy clearly heard Eos spoke of the small cup as a treasure from Toreii, but the titan kept pulling out more and more cups for the child to hold. With both arms held tightly around _eight_ different cups, she clutched them against her chest, trying her best not to let a single one fall onto the ground. She knew very well now the importance of the precious items given to her, after seeing her own power increased from Viridi's gifts.

"Eight should be enough to hold all the experience we can farm now," Eos said, as she restarted her march.

Barely able to keep eyes forward and the chalices steady, Vy hobbled along at a slower pace than before, hoping an ambush was not staring her down an arrow shaft.

* * *

The hot swelling heat of the sun beat down hard on the overcrowded campsites of leather huts. Some fire pits were still burning, slow-roasting whatever game was caught, while others were smoldering under ceramic cauldrons. Brown and green orcs alike sat around their tents, talking in their native tongue, drinking and eating the day away before their chieftain sounded the horn to start moving again.

Most of the population here were demihumans, made up of trolls, orcs, ogres, harpies, cyclops, centaurs, nagas, imps, goblins, and whatever kind of creature who wanted to join their cause. A small part of their horde was made up of magic casters ― natural-born ones like witch doctors or shamans and nurtured ones like demons, ghouls, and even some undead. It was not a peaceful banner which brought all of them together, but their mutual need to simply _consume_.

For hundreds of years, humans were the ones to control their once-sacred land, killing each and every one of them off under the assumption they're no different than wild beasts, until their eventual great gathering. While the one who had originally gathered all these different races together was still unknown, their conglomeration swept the countryside, wiping out small towns at first, then villages, to cities, and finally entire kingdoms. Like a giant landshark, going wild and consuming all they could, they needed to be that in order to sustain their great numbers, now towering in the several millions.

Now on their last legs, the humans had formed a loose alliance with whatever remaining races they could cobble together in their last-minute desperation attempt at self-preservation. Not only were the demihumans faster, stronger, and bigger than those puny humans, but they could bolster their numbers far faster than any human can. Their races were bred to grow fast and learn fast, knowing how to hunt and kill by their first year.

It seemed in their hubris, the humans had made enemies of every possible race they could, hunting and killing everything which did not meet their idealism of a 'civilized species'. Now forced into a corner, they showed their true colors: a creature desperate for survival and willing to do anything, just like any other race here. Many of the intelligent demihumans found it poetic to finally see the humans limping from the hole they dug themselves, while others simply wanted revenge or found it sporting.

Whatever it may be, history will be made, not by the humans — not spoken by them, written by them, or falsified by them. Soon, history will be written by the new victors, ones who shall write of the selfishness and hubris of the human race. Today was-

**~Woohah! ~Woohah!**

A war horn was blown.

Heads peeked up across the hundreds of thousands of tents sprawled out over the land, some reluctant to move away from their food, while others perked up at the thought of action. Starting from the eastern wing, every demihuman who did use a weapon grabbed whatever equipment at their disposal, while the others made a beeline straight for the fight endowed with their natural deadly appendages.

Uldric Hogar was the chieftain of his merry tribe before being roped into this mess. A roundish table made of lightly-sanded wood was in front of him, occupied by several other chieftains. Before him sat a minotaur, whose physique was aptly defined with bulging muscles throughout his entire body. Next to him was a naga, slender and nimble, the fastest among them and also the most cunning in the heat of the moment. Another was a centaur who always wore his platinum-plated armor wherever he went, even in the safety of this war council room. There were other orc chieftains like him, but he was here solely as a representative of his race, even after he had declined.

Those were all of the leaders he was willing to trust his life with. The others were… of the _demonic_ inclinations, which left him with unease and restlessness every passing moment. Their peace was a fake one, built around the need to focus their group effort against the humans who had gone to war with all of them. However, now as the lead chieftain, he had to consider the consequences of the aftermath of this war. What exactly happens after the humans are defeated? Should they just go back to their regular lives? No one had brought up the question in fear of angering the other party and leading to infighting.

Among the evil allies he had unwillingly made was a beauty too good for the eyes to look upon without being bewitched and eaten afterwards. A succubus in her pure cardinal nature had used whatever unknown, special magic of the demonic kind to snatch a body and use it as her own. Thankfully, she was the only one not at the current meeting, but the others were.

An overly outspoken haemomancer, whose lack of discipline was obvious from being the only person with his feet on the table, laying back as if this war was a joke for him. Similar in magical prowess was a plague doctor, dressed in all black from head to toe. Unlike the loudmouth beside him, the doctor never spoke, letting his cursed magic speak for him. Uldric often saw the doctor _after_ the battle, carrying off bodies for who knows what. The last of them and the most powerful being in the entire alliance was the elder lich, cloaked in torn garbs, with a strong desire to spread death and nothing more. Unlike the basic stools of cut-off logs everyone else was seated on, the undead had made himself at home by sitting upon a throne of bones.

Uldric's gut told him to put as much distance as he can with the lich, never speaking with him unless absolutely necessary. Today was worse than others, as the ulcers in his stomach had gotten more painful the more he stressed about the wellbeing of his people. All he knew about the lich was his ability to raise the dead after every battle, bolstering his own numbers every time. After meeting the chilling skeleton, Uldric had made it his top priority to leave the alliance as soon as the war was over. He might anger some long-standing war enthusiasts among the orcs, but any treasures secured from the humans was not worth either eternal servitude to the death lord… or worse: dying and coming back to hunt their families.

In the middle of their usual meeting to plan their advances, Uldric heard the faint sounds of the war horn being blown in the far distance. It normally meant it was time to move out and to start their march forward, but with almost all the council members here, there was no order to blow the horn. The only other reason he could think of was the humans had launched an assault on their main forces, but doing so would be nothing short of suicide for them. Even if it was a last-ditch attempt to fight, surely, there was no valor in an unwinnable fight.

As the chieftain, it was now his due diligence to be on the battlefield with his warriors. Bowing respectfully to the other members, he grabbed his great war axe on the way out. Not sticking around to see their reactions to the horn, the only other person to follow him out was the minotaur. Having been through countless battles now, Uldric was grateful he had at least made a friend on the uneasy alliance.

"Leaving for battle so soon, my friend?" Asterion asked.

"Any excuse to not be around that undead is good enough for me," Uldric answered, trying his best to ignore his ulcer pains.

The minotaur could not help but let out a hearty chortle at his friend's expense, playfully slapping the orc in the back. "Have you seen the doctor about your ulcers? You can't go around fighting without being in top form."

He could go to the plague doctor to ask for medicine, but he was deathly afraid of not coming back as the same person ― pun intended. There were rumors all doctors put in a new problem with your body after fixing your old one to force people to keep using their services. Uldric had not personally experienced such a rumor, but he was not brave enough to find out. The thrill of battle was enough to distract his mind from his other duties and the constant pain inside him.

Before he could reply, the blue sky swirled with arcane magical glyphs, right from the direction of the war horn.

* * *

"Tell me, Princes Vy, what is the highest tier of magic?" Eos asked. They both stopped in the middle of the dirt road, about half a league away from the encroaching horde. Without any plant life in sight and every tree around them cut down, she could clearly see the spiked outer walls of their army base.

"The highest tier? I knew of the existence of the 6th=Tier from my father… but Toreii- *ahem* sorry, _Great Goddess_ Toreii told me the 7th- and 8th-Tier could slay even dragons," Vy replied.

"So is the 8th-Tier the highest form of magic there is?" Eos asked once again.

Vy paused to think, remembering the incredibly remarkable first meeting with the dragon-slaying god. Back then, the elven child merely asked what tier was needed in order to kill a dragon, _not_ the highest tier of magic possible. Her musing ran alongside her imagination, each battling to one-up the other in what godhood is able to achieve. If dragons in their world neared gods, and Toreii was an _actual_ god, was the 9th-Tier the highest possible in this world, then? If her father's 500 years of life only amounted to the 6th-Tier, did Toreii's 10,000 years of age and wisdom mean it got harder and harder to achieve higher tiers… or was it the other way around? Viridi's and Eos' actions and words seem to suggest the opposite ― that as long as one kept battling and winning, it would only take 3 days to achieve the 6th- or 7th-tier. If that is the case, was Vy lowballing the highest possible tier of magic possible? If Toreii had been battling her entire life for 10 millennia, did it mean the 10th-… or maybe… the 20th? Was she still lowballing? Vy's mind raced as fast as her aching heart when she entertained the thought of the immortal young girl being able to cast a 100th-Tier spell. A world-ending spell? Was that what the dragons feared about Toreii?

Unable to give a definite answer, Vy tried her best to control her childish imagination, "Is… Is it the 10th-Tier?"

"Ahh, good guess! Maybe my sister can become a school teacher, after all of this is said and done," Eos joked. She reached into the black void again, searching through her mother's treasures for the proper item. Although Vy's current ones were perfectly fine for her level, Eos' first spell might inadvertently kill the child. Grasping a metallic ring from the void, she pulled out an illustrious gold ring with Latin inscribed on the inner side and a pictorial of an angel on the outside. "I'm going to need my trusty partner going in there, but I'm afraid calling it might accidentally kill you. This ring blocks instant death effects, so you should be fine."

Vy did her best to keep up with the terminology Toreii and her children used, as ancient godly magic tended to be outdated. She would have to ask for clarification later, but for the moment, she gingerly accepted the ring like her life depended on it. The gold ring had the most beautiful and intricate piece of craftsmanship she had ever seen. Putting it on only emboldened her, giving her a sense she could cheat death… or at least do it just once.

Bowing her head like she was taught to, Vy thanked, "Thank you for considering my safety."

Slightly nodding to the child, Eos began her procedure for battle as her mother would.

"[Boost Magic - Body of Effulgent Beryl], [Boost Magic - Body of Effulgent Aquamarine], [Boost Magic - Body of Effulgent Heliodor], [Widen Magic - Complete Vision], [Counter Detect], [Widen Magic - Delay Teleportation], [Widen Magic - Drifting Master Mine], [Boost Magic - Energy Immunity: Electricity], [False Data: Life], [False Data: Mana], [Delay Magic - Fox Sleep], [Greater Full Potential], [Greater Resistance], [Greater Magic Seal - Time Stop], [Widen Magic - Life Essence], [Widen Magic - Mana Essence], [Extend Magic - Regenerate], [Delay Magic - Time Accelerator]."

In the middle of the road, Vy thought there would have to be extravagant rituals the demigod had to perform, considering the grand scale of the attack previously implied, but instead, Eos rattled off more than a dozen spells in the span of a minute. Vy observed in breathless anticipation each time, inscribing the spell names into her memory permanently to be asked about later. A brief glow of light and an influx of mystical patterns encompassed the vantablack armor of her guardian after every chant.

She knew her maximum mana was nothing but a puddle compared to the ocean Viridi wielded, but seeing it now, right before her eyes… the child of a demigod. If Toreii's children were all this capable with magic, then the goddess herself must have had a mana capacity the size of a planet, for all she knew. She could only muster enough mana enough to kill a dozen orcs in her raid at the tiny outpost, yet someone at Eos' prowess might as well be able to take on more than just this army horde before even tiring out.

As she casted the last of her buffing spells, Eos began the long wait to release her Super-Tier spell. A kaleidoscope of pure white, magical runes and glyphs encircled her, forming a dome which changed shape and speed as the unknown arcane sigils spread further and further up. Against an army 10 million strong, Eos would take a considerable amount of time to finish her slaughter of them. Being the least agile of all her sisters, even if her sword somewhat made up for her lack of mobility, 7 kills per swing would take a year to kill even the first million.

Seeing a spell beyond the 6th-Tier for the first time in her life made Vy's young heart ache with excitement. After seeing Eos fire off a rapid succession of support spells, she assumed they must have all been greater than anything her father could ever hope to achieve in his lifetime – no, in his _dreams_, even. Now, she was right next to a demigod about to unleash her full potential. The speed and frightening amount of mystical runes and sigils flying around Eos made her wonder what it all meant – though it all boiled down to one thing, really.

Would it take one shot or two?

Locking her sight on the far horizon, faint shapes came into her view. Eos watched the shadowy figures come into focus as they marched closer. With no order or cohesion, their formation lacked any sort of consideration for strategy or tactical ranks. Flying humanoids circled above as leather armored orcs marched side-by-side with what looked like goblin hog riders. Although they advanced slowly, Eos could clearly see their attention was not focused on her, but on the elf child right beside her. Despite being the one to cast the Super-Tier spell, she was confident in her resistances to withstand any sort of long-range magical sniper shot from the enemy. However, her attackers had mistaken the original caster, thinking Vy was the one who started it. She had wanted to hold the spell for longer, but it seemed the oncoming army would attack Vy instead of her. Gazing at her sister's apprentice, she lightly nodded for Vy to stand behind her for protection.

The glowing white glyphs sped up even faster before deteriorating as Eos released her spell, "[The Dream Witch's Gift]!"

Vy immediately shut her eyes, worried her mortal mind would not be able to comprehend the godly powers being used before her. She expected some eldritch abomination would come out and blast negative debuffs all over the place – to use some of Toreii's phrases – and thus braced her senses shut. While she's now an experienced killer, _slaughter_ was another thing entirely.

And that's what she expected Eos' spell to do. No matter how kind and chivalrous this titaness was… _any_ kind of full-powered attack from someone of her level wouldn't be anything but total decimation.

However, the first thing going past her tense body was… the scent of the earth?

Refreshing, floral, sweet, rich, cool… All the things she associated with Viridi's skillset, but far more pleasant and lacking the inherent ruthlessness running through that elven goddess's deeds.

She dared crack her eyes open… and what she saw made her abandon all earlier thoughts of shutting down her sense.

It's just… a single beautiful woman. The opposite of Viridi's graceful and elegant figure, or Eos' powerful and comforting presence, or Nanami's adorable and demure attitude… this woman was _full_ in all the right places.

To be honest, she looked more like a high-class whore than a divine beauty. No, that's precisely it – this woman was _earthly_, not divine. The culmination of worldly desires… of health, wealth, comeliness, etc. was represented in her appearance.

The fact she was naked stunned both Vy and the incoming army, stopping the latter dead in their tracks.

Then, a split second later, _they really did die._

It was too far for Vy to make out what actually happened, but her honed magical senses told her there were countless thin threads burrowing through the ground and spreading right towards that conglomeration of inhuman creatures. Having experience with Viridi's spells, her narrow mind rationalized this must be a similar effect – only on a far, _far_ larger scale.

Every single creature in the horizon fell forwards, like puppets with their strings cut, before their comrades from the back row ran over them, not knowing what's going on. The process repeated itself – the newcomers stumbled forwards, breath stopped – creating a small wall made of flesh which grew in size with every passing moment.

She gasped aloud when blue spheres rose above each and every one of their corpses from their bodies, slowly floating towards them. No, they're quite a bit smaller – more in line with Viridi's spore-based floral attacks – as Vy watched eagerly for any signs of alarm from her guardian, but Eos stood calm as always, as if she's expecting this outcome. One of the chalices in her arms floated away from her grasp, hovering mid-air as all the blue orbs condensed, before entering the empty brown cup. Had she known any better, Vy's best guess was the cup was gathering the souls of those who had perished.

Amidst all the blue souls being vacuumed up, grotesque, colorful trees bloomed in seconds, growing nearly as tall as the elven castle Vy remembered, instantly transforming the landscape into a nightmarish paradise full of fantastical flora. Man-faced sunflowers, bone trunks covered with barks made of entrails and blood, glowing porous cones eerily similar to tripe in texture but not color… and many other things Vy felt she _must not look must not look must not look must not look must not look must not look…_

Then, the earthly yet foreign woman turned towards the two women, casually walking over, her eyes locked into Vy's heterochromatic pair, full of **desire**.

Vy could not move.

She had to **move**.

_**She had to run RIGHT NOW!**_

Her legs would not budge an inch.

Tears trickled down her pale cheeks and her eyes wide from the initial shock, yet her pupils were already contracting to be as small as possible.

Vy wanted to go back to Viridi.

It was too late.

Everything so far was going as Eos had intended, save for releasing her spell early to save Vy from being attacked by the naked woman's hidden tendrils. Remembering the elven child, she turned around to check up since the princess had gone completely silent since. Cowering in shock and tears, Vy's pin-sized eyes told the titan all she needed to know about the child.

Gently placing her hand on Vy's chest, Eos casted another spell, "[Courage of Achilles]."

A golden cloak so thin it was see-through loosely veiled around Vy's rigid body. The bleak cold aura overwhelmingly telling all her instincts to run had been replaced by a warmer and hopeful light. Regaining her ability to think, her first thought was to run once again, but seeing the _creature_ up close now, she didn't give off any of the fright it gave her earlier ― though soon she realized it's because of the help of an external spell, instead of this _thing_ suddenly becoming cuter or something.

"Sorry about that. I forgot children get scared of monsters easily," Eos apologized. Offering a hand to the princess once again, Vy hesitantly accepted. The titan's spell had worked as intended, eliminating all of the child's fear and hopelessness. "When I said I was calling my 'partner' earlier, I should have clarified better."

Yidhra's avatar smiled and silently bowed, extending one hand to caress Vy's long ears and eliciting an inadvertent sensual moan from the inexperienced elfling.

"N-No… I w-was just surprised, is all… Please excuse my rude behavior. I knew of inexplicable creatures living among us … I had never seen or heard of anything like _this_ before," Vy said, blushing at her outburst, squirming away from the hand which feels great feels good feels great feels good feels great feels good feels great feels good feels great feels good feels great feels good…

"I'll be sure to keep all my future spells age-appropriate," Eos said politely. "It's one of my skills close enough to Viridi's… and thus I have the least compatibility with, despite its power." Had her older sister been here, she was sure there would have been an hour-long lecture or two about releasing a Super-Tier in front of someone who did not know of any higher-tiered spells. Still, Viridi wanted Eos to quickly grind for experience points. Channeling Yidhra's power was the fastest way if she was able to hold onto her casting for longer and got more of them to spawn. Even if things were not exactly going to plan, the stunning beauty was sure to make a huge dent in the horde's numbers.

The rhythmic sound of three sets of footsteps preoccupied Vy mind as she wondered what exactly she had gotten herself into with these 'gods'.

* * *

Yidhra, the Goddess of [Harvest] and [Bounty]. Unlike most of her more… _macabre_ Super-Tier spells, this was the most suitable to quickly extract experience points from a large number of enemies. The others were simply designed to _kill_, no questions asked… and thus something Eos rarely used because they took the enjoyment out of everything she did.

The mana consumption was terrible, though. Eos wasn't joking when she said this was the spell she's least comfortable with to use. The top of the hour neared… and the spell will end by then. Half of the chalice had already been filled, but they had cleared so little of the main army. Although she should be focusing on what to do after her 'partner' disappeared, Eos was more occupied with the mental well-being of the elven child in her guardianship. Even with her spell for encouragement, Vy was not as outgoing as she expected a kid to be ― but then again, not many kids are happy to be next to a child of an outer god.

Staying as close to Eos as she could, Vy desperately clung onto the titan's hand, trying her best to stay out of Yidhra's avatar's line of sight. Every now and then she would hear the cries of the orcs ― weak, desperate ones; the final death throes of a soon-to-be corpse. She had thought the toxins produced by Viridi's plants were an inhumane way to train her magical skills, but after seeing the full impact of what it cost to give her power ― to sacrifice millions of souls into these chalices ― Vy began to fear for her humanity.

Between the rough crunch of bones forcibly torn apart by the plants growing _from their insides _or the fountains of blood spurting into the air, to the sickening sweet scent she was somewhat immune to after inhaling so many of Viridi's spores, Vy wished she could forget it all, but to come so far, she wondered if the powers she was offered were worth seeing all the suffering around her. The only price she had to pay to gain higher-tiered magic was to be patient and wait out all the massacre surrounding her, yet the beings below had to pay with their very lives. As a princess, she thought she lived a privileged life before, but hearing the constant deaths around, she knew now there were gods… and then there were everyone else.

Then the plants around them began to _talk_, causing Vy to scream and shriek every now and then, much to Yidhra's avatar's gleeful smile.

Looking back now, Viridi had tried to mentally prepare her for the shock of systematic slaughtering, but Vy refused to leave her bubble of fantasy to see reality. There was a cost for everything in this world, including the power Vy had been hampering for. She wanted to leave this scene as fast as she could, to not be a part of it, but it would show the world – and to herself – her inner cowardice. Her only way to cope was to believe all these orcs would have died anyways at the hand of the alliance and their grand army. So, Eos starting the fight early had not only secured her power, but also saved the lives of many elves, humans, and dwarves. It was a believable lie, very convincing too, yet… her heart still ached for what was all around her.

This was not the victory she expected.

* * *

**A/N:** Next chapter will probably be the end of this misadventure. I won't intend to explore the New World for a while unless it involves Thor and Loki.


	16. Chapter 16 - Vy's Misadventure, Part 5

It was hollow and shallow. She felt hollow and shallow.

The perfect triumph she imagined all these years were-

"Get down!"

In less than a second, her eyes caught the briefest glimpse of a black beam fired directly at them from deep within the army. Despite the heavy metallic burden the titan wore for protection, Eos quickly used her entire body to block the full force of the oncoming attack, but not without drawbacks. Both of them were sent flying as she heard the loud wail of pain from the ruthless beauty.

Landing on both her feet without worry, Eos held her damsel in distress in a very unladylike manner. Vy was wrapped in the titan's left arm by the waist, snuggly tucked but not too uncomfortably tight. Despite the size and heavy gait she let people assume of herself, Eos was actually a very nimble swordswoman. Keeping up the façade of a slow tank was something her mother had taught her; giving false impressions was just as important as having a good first impression, both towards one's enemies and allies.

Yidhra's avatar slowly dissolved into black mist as her time in this world had expired. Although she had shown a pained expression to whatever had hit her, she knew for a fact the resistances of said Level 90 summon were very close to her own, being able to withstand a barrage of spells. Playing the part it needed to as its final act, she wanted the higher powers in the horde army to think they had a chance, or else every one of them would have just fled.

Everything was playing out just as Viridi told her it would, though she hated admitting it.

Her ears suddenly pricked to attention. Two bodies stomped their way through the blood-soaked ground just within her hearing range, their armor and trinkets clattering rhythmically against their bodies. Turning her body so Vy was shielded from the oncoming attackers, Eos thought about whether or not the person who fired the black bolt at them was close enough to fire again.

Staring her down, a brawny orc charged at her with a large axe, swinging full force with both of his arms. "ARGGHHH!" He grunted in front of the titan, bringing down the sharp end of the black axe straight down center.

Putting up her best performance, she blocked the full force with her armguard. All she could feel from it was the sound of scraping metal and sparks flying, as the black axe skimmed off her armor and made a loud splash when it struck the puddle of blood underneath their feet.

Coordinating their attacks in sequence, just as Eos began her counter, she heard the heavy stomping of hooves from behind – a minotaur. Without looking back, she prioritized protecting Vy, switching from holding the princess at her waist to hugging her closely to her black armored chest. A pair of slashes breezed down her backside, leaving nothing but sparks and no visible damage to her or her armor.

Right in front of her, the orc had already wound up a horizontal strike to cleave off her head and the child she carried. Wanting to feign their attack as successful, Eos lightly kicked off the ground mid-block to pretend the orc was strong enough to send her flying. In a better position than before, her two attackers were right in front of her sight, all the while she kept her ears attentive for the individual who shot at them.

In a tiny voice, muffled by being tightly held against the black armor, Vy tried to clear the vertigo from her ears and the spinning in her mind, "A-Are you okay?! What happened?!"

Looking down at the princess's heterochromatic eyes, wide and alert from the adrenaline in her tiny body, Eos replied in her ever-calm voice, "Oh, you know, being shot at by a mage. Nothing my mother wouldn't want me to do. Are _you _okay?"

Never been _this_ up close to an orc attack before, the axe-wielding maniac instilled fright into her heart at first glance. She was only still in one piece because the titan had used her body to block every attack sent their way, making sure she was out of harm's way first. After the initial shock of seeing the horrifyingly disfigured plant monsters weaned, she was sure Eos had a noble heart. The heroics of using one's own body as a shield for another was not something to be taken lightly. Appearances aside, Vy was sure she was in safe hands.

Landing on her feet again, she stood wobbly beside the massive knight in black armor, her mind still in the state of waking up from a lackadaisical dream in a faraway land full of fairytale endings. The adrenaline pumping through her aging heart snapped her out of the daydream, as she made a thorough check for any bodily injuries. "I'm unharmed."

In unison, one by one, demihumans of every race formed a circle around the duo, encircling them and leaving no room in sight for even a mouse to sneak through. Locked shoulder-to-shoulder and with so very little room to move, orcs of every size could be seen as far as Vy's short height would allow her. In the sky were harpies and other avian humanoids, patrolling around them like vultures looking out for scrapes to eat.

Among the crowd, several figures were pushing their way forward onto the scene. Vy could make out the crazed, hungry lustful look some of the demihumans eyed her with, while others glared at her with animalistic fury. Breaking through the masses, the axe-wielding orc she saw attack them earlier reappeared. Not versed in their culture and custom, she could not tell who was their chieftain, but taking a good guess, anyone reckless enough to attack a demigod was probably their leader.

Thankful she traded up in guardian angels, Eos had already assumed a defensive stance with Vy close by. Using a piece of cloth, she had made a hammock for the empty chalices, while still carefully holding onto the one still filling up. Despite the rampage the naked female avatar caused, Vy could not fully tell if their numbers had dwindled at all. The hour-long slaughter had barely dented the main fighting force of the horde, making Vy reconsider if jumping straight into combat was the smartest approach.

A gale of wind breezed through the dirty battlefield was the only sound heard by both parties. Completely cut off from any escape route, be it sky or land, Eos stood silent, continuing to assess every possible method of attack. Even if her older sister considered herself to be the sole genius among the Noble Sisters, Viridi was only a master of the macro of a battle. The ancient elf would be able to plan a fight from beginning to end, anticipating every move her opponent could and would make. However, the start had now long passed, and just like a chess match, the midgame was an important factor which decided who would win the end game. Right now, on the battlefield, where the tide could turn given _enough_ bad moves, Eos was far superior than Viridi in the micro of a battle.

Gently grasping the young elf's hand, Eos put her plan into motion. '_[Silent Magic - Mantle of the Fallen].'_

Streaks of purple light immediately caught Vy's attention, quickly outlining the seams in her guardian's armor before the demigod put both her gauntlets around her helm.

Seeing Eos's face for the first time, the titan's beauty was completely different from her sister's heavenly glamor. Long black hair reaching the armor's waist flowed downward – whereas Viridi's allure was certainly divine in nature, Vy could not help but feel Eos's own came from another world altogether.

"I'll be back," Eos said. With a single smooth motion, she plopped the black helm down onto Vy's soft head. The enchantments took full effect, as the rest of her armor detached itself from her, stripping her of any protection and resized itself to fit into a smaller and more delicate body, fitting perfectly tightly around the small elf's body. Eos was left bare with nothing but plain undergarments covering her chest and loins.

From the slits in the black armor forced onto her, Vy viewed the titan's full body in all of its glory. Tightly worked muscles encapsulated Eos's entire frame, from the demigod's neck down to her calves. What should have been breasts were instead bulging, firm pectorals, accompanied by finely chiseled abs closely woven together. Vy's heart skipped a beat several times while she felt her cheeks flush with attention. Her mind stopped all of its functionality and was replaced with a metronome, swinging between if she should swoon over such handsome stature or be jealous because of her own flabby body. Eos's light olive tan seemed to have come from working her muscles in the early sun, a stark contrast to Viridi's own alabaster white.

She soon realized she was not the only one whose eyes were glued on Eos's surprising build.

Stretching her arms and legs, Eos let out a happy grin from the excitement she had stored up since leaving her home. With her top priority of protecting Vy out of the way, her armor would ensure no harm befell the fragile elf child while Eos had a little bit of fun with the New World natives. Putting away her mother's priceless sword long ago, she enjoyed the tingle from cracking her knuckle, loosening the tension in it. Exposed as much as a lady could be without being outright indecent, she was sure their attention would quickly switch to her in their simple minds. In truth, she wanted to use herself as bait for the magic caster who had shot them earlier, and making herself an easier target would surely be too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Barely taking a step forward, the front row of orcs kneeled impressively smoothly to reveal several rows of archers at the ready with their crossbows. A small tornado flicked about in her ears as the arrows quickly made contact against her body. The first arrow struck clean, hitting her upper chest as the wooden shaft made it halfway through her flesh; the second arrow was only able to sink its pointed tip, drawing not as much blood as the first; by the third one, it barely left a graze on her skin, unable to penetrate. The rest of the volley of arrows had no effect whatsoever on her.

The crowd of orcs reacted just as Eos would expect from seeing her strange biology at work. Slightly irritated from the surprise attack, she yanked the second arrow out while breaking the first in half, before pulling the rest out. Behind her, she knew her mother's armor had perfectly protected Vy, allowing Eos to continue her arrogant saunter without worry. Arrows were still being shot at her, yet none of them had the same effect as the first two, much less three. When the orcs finally realized their artillery no longer worked, those with axes and mauls were the first to swing at her.

Bringing down both of his great axes once again, Eos was face-to-face with the same minotaur who attacked earlier. Leaping in front of the crowd of orcs, the muscular man-bull swung at her with two vertical slashes, hoping to cleave her into three separate pieces. The minotaur's right axe made contact with her right arm, almost completely severing it from her body. The finely-sharpened cleaver-like blades nearly broke through both her bones – however, _almost_ was not going to cut it against Eos's Outer Realm heritage. As her left forearm absorbed half the damage her right side did, she quickly countered with a swift kick dead-center on the minotaur's open chest.

Sending the hulking body of the bull flying back several feet, only stopped by the orcs behind the towering monster cushioning him. Eos continued her assault forward. While she did not possess the same ultra-fast healing Viridi or Toreii were blessed with, Eos was still proud of her own strengths in battle. If the first three or so attacks did not outright kill her, she would return the favor tenfold.

The first unfortunate orc closest to her wrath had his head explode into pieces of grey matter and skull fragments. Despite almost losing the limb, Eos's right hook delivered enough excessive force to punch through a fully grown orc with ease. Having shed half her weight in armor, Eos's trained footwork regained their nimble ferocity, easing herself into a forward elbow strike at the orc covered with his brethren's blood.

No, that's not quite accurate – she's _always _this fast irrespective of her armor; she only chose not to showcase her speed.

From the wayside, Vy watched with rapt attention at the brawler's unwillingness to go down or slow-up. Seeing Eos's change from steadfast titan to unyielding juggernaut with the flip of a switch consumed her immediate attention. Locked within the resized armor, it took several minutes before she noticed the onslaught of waylay attacks on her backside. As if it were a gentle breeze tickling her, the full might of axes, clubs, and mauls struck her back, yet she could feel nothing of their impact. Once again blessed by the sacred items of her godly patrons, Vy could not help but feel the need to heal her guardian's injuries. Having given up her only source of defense, the elf princess harbored guilt within her heart for being the main reason Eos was going half-naked to begin with.

Soaked in blood — the orcs' and hers — Eos only needed to land a single decisive blow to kill any of the demihumans. Although she was the only one among her sisters to carry a sword, she was more comfortable brawling to the death. When things got down and dirty, nothing felt better than letting her fist solve her problems. Despite what Viridi would openly say about her boorish ways, Eos found great enjoyment out of just beating the life out of everything standing in front of her. Rather than having any defensive countermeasures in her fighting style, she opted for an all-offensive blitz, allowing her biological make-up to be her only defense.

Her right hook was followed up immediately by a left hook, trailed by a series of jabs and uppercuts to mow down every orc in her vicinity. Having leaped right into the middle of a random orc battalion after kicking the minotaur, swords and spears stabbed deep into her body, but Eos never gave it the slightest mind. Regenerating ever so slowly from the spell she prepared earlier, Eos was still mindful to not let her bloody frenzy distract her from drawing out the magic caster.

Utilizing her godly strength and physique as well as a combination of all her limbs, a trail of bodies began littering the floor as she killed more and more orcs. Faster and faster each body dropped, but there was no end in sight for a single fighter against an army of several million. Eos's adaptive biology had already ensured she no longer took damage from physical attacks, giving her more reason to go even more ballistic. Punch after punch, kick after kick, body after body, more blood pooled onto the ground below and the experienced orbs were sent flying to where she safely left the princess.

Vy was unable to move from where she stood, or move any of her limbs, for that matter. Lifting her arms felt like it was being slept on by that gigantic tree she saw Viridi was taking care of, and she quickly gave up on trying. However, what shocked her the most was her inability to cast magic while locked in her new metal prison. As if she were under house arrest, it seemed the armor's only purpose was to shield her from the orcs surrounding her, but at the cost of her magic. With nothing to do but collect the orbs coming her way, Vy's heart started to panic when the blood on the ground started flowing toward where Eos had jumped.

Flowing like a torrent, the crimson blood sprouted tendrils not too dissimilar to what Yidhra's avatar used earlier. Every orc quickly ran away from the spot, giving her a good view of what was forming.

A giant congealed ball of blood formed right in front of her bleeding guardian, as it spread dozens of sentient tentacles from its body . A young man, barely of age and dressed in gaudy red robes, stood upon a solidified pillar of blood. Wearing a smirk of someone who always looked down on others, the unknown haemomancer crackled from the distance.

Eos stood by patiently, removing the metal blades and spear points broken off in her body, causing her wounds to open up and accelerating her blood loss. Calm as ever, she evaluated the change in opponent with careful attention, keeping her eyes on the caster rather than what he had summoned.

"Were you the one who shot at me earlier?" she openly asked.

"Oh? So you _can_ talk properly. I thought those muscles were taking all the blood from your brain," the young man laughed in the face of a demigod. "As for being the one to shoot you, I'm afraid not. Blood is my specialty, my brutish lady — Archduke Izyaslav of Zyther, councilmen of the Horde Alliance."

Unamused and without hesitation, Eos had grabbed a headless corpse by her foot and tossed the lifeless body at the crimson pillar the blood mage stood on. Before it could reach him, a tendril had flattened itself into an ultra-thin blade and sliced the body cleanly in half. Guts and entrails splashed on the ground while all the blood continued to swirl into the archduke's blood sphere.

"That was incredibly rude! I was mid sent- HEY! Stop throwing bod-! **HEY!**"

Left and right, dead bodies were cut in half before it could reach her intended target. If she wanted, Eos could have just leapt and tackled the bloodmage onto the ground, but recklessly charging a mage would land her more than just a scathing lecture from her mother. With the sudden appearance of the overly-obnoxious blood sorcerer, the horde had begun their counter attack. Back to being surrounded by an orc circle as if she were the next fighter in a gulag, their smirks told Eos the haemomancer was well above their current level.

Feeling the inrush of blood on her feet, she soon found both her legs grasped by the bloody tendrils impeding her movement. The slow rattling of wooden wheels reached her ears as Eos watched the crowd part itself for their siege weapon: a ballista needing the full strength of six orcs to push forward, with a giant harpoon pointed directly at her. At almost twice her height in length, she guessed the rudimentary missile was meant for adolescent dragons.

Remaining as calm as ever, the smile she wore never faltered or changed as the ballista fired. Spewing blood and entrails from where the missile pierced her abdomen, the metal ripping through her muscles and stomach, blowing out her spine and backside. The sharp point lodged itself deeply in the ground behind her, leaving a gaping hole where it entered and exited. Yet, Eos did not even bother to tend to her wound, breaking free of the tentacles and strolling to where the ballista had stopped as if nothing had happened.

Despite all the damage she was taking and having shed most of her defensive stats to protect Vy, Eos still had her massive healthpool. As the **only** frontliner for the Noble Sisters, she had to survive _everything_ – even compared to her older sister's greatest summon, a living piece of Gaia itself, she would win a war of attrition by a vast margin. Thanks to the spells she had prepared beforehand, Eos was under the guise of taking lethal damage. Having been born with the sole purpose of taking damage from a full party of DPS, Eos was proud to shoulder anything which could hurt any of her sisters — even if _one_ of them deserved to be smacked from time to time.

As if an undead was walking among them, the circle of orcs around Eos slowly increased in area. With the orcs stepping back in caution, it was now only Eos and the annoying mage she had the displeasure of talking with. Tightly grabbing the bloody harpoon which pierced her, Eos contorted her biceps to increase the blood flow into them. Like she watched her mother do many times before, her body took the stance of an Olympian, ready to throw the javelin.

"Barbaric to the very end!" He screamed with a hateful leer.

Returning her smile with a disgusted look of his own, the blood sphere reformed into a protective barrier in front of its caster. Eos paid it no mind and focused wholeheartedly on her aim. Using more force and power than the machine shot her with, the missile launched from her hand at ear-bleeding speeds, ripping through the air.

**~~~ SPLASH!**

A small sonic boom propelled the surrounding orcs backwards as the sharp metal broke through every barrier of blood between the two combatants. Pierced in the exact same posture as she was, the body of the bloodmage quickly landed on the ground with a soft thud and in two pieces, causing all the blood he had gathered to lose all sentience. The ground went back to murky brown and red as the blood soaked the already-drenched dirt.

Eos cautiously walked to where her kill laid seemingly dead, still weary of the blood she was stepping on. Although she had meant to deal some damage to the bloodmage, Eos was not expecting to rip his body asunder, tearing his spine in half as they did to hers. The soft muttering from surprised faces around her spoke volumes about how unexpected an outcome it was, which meant the dead haemomancer was someone of importance in the horde army. Scanning through the crowd with each step to the body, she immediately stopped in her tracks when his experience orb did not appear.

"[Abyssal Mausoleum]!"

Underneath her feet, dozens of blood hands grabbed every part of her body, dragging her into their oceanic depths underneath. Eos was completely submerged and out of sight while her opponent slowly surfaced. The bloodmage slowly rose above the puddle of blood where he had originally died, smirking at the female giant who had fallen for his trap.

"If you don't drown, I'm sure the pressure will kill you," he taunted, watching the top of the titan's head submerge, leaving only a fizzle of air bubbles where she disappeared behind.

Every orc on standby watching anxiously and tensely at the bewitching vixen who was strong enough to put all of them to shame. As a race who took pride in their physical superiority, watching someone else outmuscle them put a large damper on their egos. If not for the bloodmage, every living orc would have found their skulls punched to pieces. A quiet mumbling spread among them over what had just occurred, and how so many were killed so quickly by the unknown voluptuous woman. Ultimately, all their attention came back to the armored child, still standing exactly where they left her.

Izyaslav leisurely dissolved the decoy body he used earlier, reabsorbing the blood into his clothes, making them shine even brighter. Behind him were his fellow council members, Uldric gingerly lending a shoulder to a bruised Asterion. Both warriors looked to where the haemomancer had sealed the demon, wondering if she could spring back to life at any moment. Wasting enough of his time on such a barbaric woman, the bloodmage walked back to where the elven child was, ready to confront who he assumed was the real mastermind behind the attack on their camp.

Without moving an inch from where the titan left her, half a dozen orcs were still trying to make any kind of headway into breaking the vantablack armor Vy now wore. Even at their full strength, Vy could barely notice any force from them. Watching the direction Eos had leaped away to, she found a gasp leaving her mouth when she saw the bloodmage, minotaur and orc chieftain return in the demigod's place.

"Come out of there, witch! Your monsters have been slain," exclaimed Izyaslav. Raising his hand, the blood tendrils on the ground formed sharp weapons meant to pierce through the joints of a full body armor.

Vy watched helplessly as two greatswords made entirely of blood swung down heavily, right where her shoulders met her chest, intent to rip Vy limb from limb. Despite the repeated strikes where the armor should be weakest, Vy felt… _nothing_. However, underneath her feet, each strike sent a shockwave down to the ground, causing her boots to sink lower and lower into bloody dirt.

Shaking the very ground and splashing brown blood into the air, the two greatswords were joined by a maul and a spear. Hovering just above the child's head, the hammer was twice her total size in the armor, as the blunt end swung back and landed dead center on the chest piece. Like water on sheet metal, the blood hammer gave out before Eos's armor did. Clicking his tongue in frustration, Izyaslav summoned more and more weapons from the blood of the fallen orcs. Swinging down with the intent to kill each time, every weapon lost their shape after connecting. Without a shadow of a doubt, there was no way any of them could break through.

"[Blood Sarcophagus]!"

Unamused and quickly losing his temper, Izyaslav dispersed all the weapons, instead going for a crushing motion. Closing the palm of his hand around Vy's shape, a blood sphere quickly concentrated on the armor and shrunk with crushing pressure inside. The vantablack color was smothered completely, as the red condensed tighter and tighter around the black suit. No longer wanting to separate user and armor, Izyaslav was going to finish what he started no matter what it took.

"Why won't you di- WAHHH!"

Uldric looked quickly to what had startled the bloodmage, as he watched _a single hand_ jutting out of the blood-soaked ground. It grabbed onto the haemomancer's boot and he was swiftly yanked down into the puddle of blood. Both him and Asterion took a step back in precaution, not knowing what happened to the strange magic caster. Several minutes passed, and air bubbles continued to break the surface where Izyaslav disappeared… until the moment _someone _resurfaced, making them watch in horror.

Eos was drenched from head-to-toe in blood. The once silky-smooth black hair dripped frivolously with the blood of the thousands of victims the haemomancer had stockpiled. While she's slowly healing, heavy purple bruises still covered her entire body, and carrying the lifeless body of Izyaslav in her right hand, dragging him by the collar of his archduke outfit. His body was unharmed, but his neck was clearly lulling in the wrong direction.

Being the first person to ever survive the full force of their bloodmage's killer wrath left most of the orcs slowly backing away in fear. A dead council member, a powerful one at that, left a nasty impression in Uldric's mind. He was _very_ thankful for the death of Izyaslav, but he simply traded the haemomancer for an even more terrifying monster. While still supporting Asterion, he backed away slowly, watching the same blue sphere escape from Izyaslav blood-red clothes as the rest of their fallen troops, confirming the bloodmage's death.

Naturally, with its caster dead, the ultra-dense blood sphere surrounding the black armor collapsed faster than smashed pudding. The royal elven princess was neck-deep in the impromptu crater from the earlier onslaught… still immobile and immaculate in the impenetrable fortress of godly metal. Although she had been sidelined, Vy still kept up her duty of keeping the chalice safe and collecting an unusually big glob of blue from the bloodmage into her brown goblet, finally finishing filling the rest of the needed experience points. She saw two other cups pulled forward, both also filled up to the brim, before disappearing into a black void.

Eos was the first to break the silence creeping across the battlefield, as she dropped the bloodmage's lifeless body onto the ground. "Was he someone important?" She asked no one in particular.

The dual-wielding minotaur answered her while still holding his bruised chest, "Not anymore… Who are you…?" Despite the glaring injuries on the muscular titan, to survive Izyaslav's blood prison so easily made his previous perception of what she could actually survive completely wrong.

Smiling from cheek to cheek, eager to be asked that very question, Eos enthusiastically answered, "I am Eos, second daughter of the Goddess Toreii, and the second eldest Noble Sister. I'm terribly sorry about your friends and families who have died. It's nothing personal; just doing what is being asked of me."

The crowd and council members heard no malice or arrogance in Eos's voice, as if she were merely stating facts, and it was up to them if they wanted to believe it or not.

It was now Uldric's turn to speak up, having seen many of his fellow orcs die in a single blow, "What exactly have you been ordered to do?" He observed she was merely indiscriminately killing them off with nonchalance, as she didn't specifically target important council members like how someone who truly cared about this war would.

"Hmm? To fill the chalices. Plain and simple," Eos replied, calm and straightforward.

To Asterion and Uldric, she was basically announcing she was here to collect souls. Thus far, the Chieftain was unable to deduce the reasoning for filling the chalices. He witnessed her strange ability to withstand brutal attacks with ease, regardless what they threw at her… until eventually, every attack ceased to have any effect it previously did. They originally believed there was a chance at victory when they got her to bleed – all of his kin knew bleeding meant weakness – however, his dead allies proved otherwise.

"And what happens to us after you fill these chalices?" Uldric asked, wary of subjugation under another monster.

"Well, to be honest, that's not really up to me. I'm just- Wait, hang on…" Eos said, pausing mid-sentence as she raised a hand to her ear to accept the incoming [Message]. "O' great older sister of mine, for what do I owe this pleasure? Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry I'm not living up to _your_ expectations. Please accept my _deepest_ and most _humbling_ apology, dearest sister. Ehh? I'm DiSiNcLiNed tO aCqUiEsCe tO yOuR rEqUeSt."

Everyone watched in shocked silence when Eos held up a finger to ask for a moment of their time while she had this _very public_ conversation. Here and there, some coughs could be heard from the crowd, attempting to draw her attention back, but the babbling titian was more immersed in her own personal affairs than the potential threats around her, implicitly implying, '_None of you matter.' _

Uldric wondered if this would be the only time he would've had the chance to escape while he could.

"Sorry about that. New orders from the higher up: no witnesses," explained Eos. Reaching back into her inventory, she pulled out the silver vampiric blade she hid away earlier. Although not very long when compared to her towering size, [Crissaegrim] was not a sword to be taken lightly. Finally taking the situation seriously, she carefully took a stance while drawing back the blade, enjoying the quiet hum of metal on air.

Every orc within Eos's vicinity surrounded the minotaur and Chieftain, using their bodies to hide both of the council member's presence. It did not matter how many bodies were thrown at her, as eventually, Eos would cut down every last one. Knowing Viridi and her 'master plan', Nanami was more than likely stationed at the boundary of the large army, waiting for any deserters.

Almost on cue, every warrior charged at her while roaring mightily… before their bravery was soon silenced by several metallic rings.

* * *

Skinless bony fingers lightly tapped the skeletal throne the lich was sitting on. Through his blank, black eye sockets, the undead watched his fellow council member carefully. The tent they had used for their meeting was now completely empty of all beastmen, with only him and the plague doctor left. The black suit and the avian beak seemed to have sealed the entire world away from whomever was inside, but lately, the lich wondered if it was actually the other way around — if the suit was meant to seal _him_ away from the world.

Never once seeing the man inside the suit, the lich wondered if there was even a man inside. Although he had conducted numerous experiments on dead bodies to increase his potency in necromancy, the doctor was one contender in the dark arts able to give him a run for his own money.

Having been undead for almost two centuries, Dyfiir Ouofer could summon skeletal warriors from the dead bodies of fallen humans and orcs alike. He considered his skills to be second-to-none among liches, but whatever the plague doctor was, it was not meant for living eyes to witness. For many years now, he considered the almost-silent creature to be a rival, challenging him to newer heights of undead abilities. Yet, even Dyfiir had respect for the undead he created. His sense of honor for his loyal creations was born from watching the willingness of the orc chieftain and his orc tribe. Despite having no real emotions whatsoever, he sought a sort of faux kinship with his fellow undead.

Still, what he witnessed from the plague doctor was a complete disregard for any sanctity of life, alive or undead. If a pyre was made for the fallen, Dyfiir would see the doctor gather any remaining body parts not burned afterwards. Even from those who needed medical attention, any amputated and discarded limb would be picked up immediately by him afterwards. No one had the faintest clue what or why he needed so many body parts for. Dyfiir had proof of use in the form of undead soldiers, but the doctor had somehow gathered and hidden almost an entire kingdom's worth of body parts by now. Where those severed limbs and dead bodies went was a mystery to all but one.

After seeing the voluptuous, unknown woman turn bodies into trees of blood and entrails, Dyfiir knew better than to stay with the orc army. He had sent a silent command to all of his undead to tunnel toward the mountain region where Dyfiir would hide out until after winter came and left. Everything he considered of magical value had already been transported out of the beastman's legion. The only reason he had not left yet was to try and uncover the final mystery: the plague doctor.

The black suit he wore, stained with mud and blood, tightly concealed the humanoid body underneath, never once showing any kind of skin or color. Today was the first time Dyfiir saw the doctor carry around a bag of medical supplies on his body. Rifling through it with steady hands, the leather gloves with dried blood stains on them pulled out a syringe with glowing green contents inside. Without the faintest clue what was contained within, the lich watched in silence, giving his fellow researcher his full attention.

Without saying any kind of last words, the unknown man departed their tent, leaving the skeletal undead to his own thoughts. Hearing the dangers of the ongoing battle outside, he watched the endless slaughter of the orcs through his connection with his undead soldiers. As there was nothing left for him to do, Dyfiir silently bid the demihumans farewell, as they had finally outlived their usefulness to him.

"[Teleportation]."

* * *

Uldric had made sure Asterion received the medical attention he needed. The chieftain paced back and forth on the dirt floor of the witch doctors' hut. Staying and fighting meant certain death for all of them. To think a monster from outside their uneasy alliance would be the one to needlessly slaughter them out of the blue – he had expected a betrayal from one of the demons or the undead mage, but a hulking mass of undying muscle was a much more immediate problem right now.

"Chief Uldric! Sir, I have urgent news!" An out of breath, brown orc clamored.

He recognized the young body as the son of one of his lieutenants, and beckoned the aging boy to continue.

"The plague doctor! He started moving towards the battle!"

Having lost several spies trying to uncover what the plague doctor was doing with the body parts he gathered, Uldric knew better than anyone to stay anymore. His lapse in judgement earlier was gone, as the turning point of this horde alliance had just broken. Speaking as quietly as he could, he gave the messenger his orders, "Gather our tribe and anyone you care for. We leave **now**."

Not too far away, where Eos stood slashing away at seven bodies at once and defending the still-immobile elven princess, the amount of dead bodies formed mini-walls on the ground. With no time to move their fallen out of the way, many orcs trampled on their own brethren in order to get within range of the bloody titan. Believing their sacrifice would eventually slow Eos down, a constant flow of warriors threw themselves at her with no regard for their life. Every single one would fall — directly by the vampiric blade or indirectly by the additional slashes it magically created.

Soon enough, Eos was standing on a mountain of slashed bodies with the newcomers struggling to climb up to reach her. Up on her perch, she could see another magic circle forming around a lone being in the distance, slowly making its way to her location. Below her, murmurs in orcish language spread quickly as everyone abandoned their efforts to attack her. Judging by the way the low-level orcs reacted, it was probably another council member on their way to her location.

Leaping from the pile of bodies, Eos splashed onto the bloody dirt ground where Vy was stuck neck-deep in the ground, still guarding the chalices. Many of the attacking orcs left her alone after seeing their bloodmage unable to make a dent. Speaking as calmly as ever, Eos asked, "How are you holding up, Princess Vy? We're already halfway done filling up the chalices."

Being stuck and unable to move any part of the armor, the elfling was limited in what she could see of the battlefield. All she could see from the slits directly in front of her was just bodies of orcs sliced and dead on the ground. Spending countless minutes watching the slaughter of orcs had since desensitized her to the violence surrounding her sheltered lifestyle. After a while, she decided when they got back, she would thank Viridi for being as diligent as she was to ease Vy into what must be done. There was subtleness in the ancient elf's actions and words. However, the brashness of Eos lacked any brakes to allow Vy's young mind to catch a breather.

Practicing her breathing since the killing started, Vy's nerves fought against her, but the child answered with the nobility she was brought up with, "I'm unharmed, Lady Eos, just… Didn't expect to witness so much death, is all… I'm sure Lady Viridi has this all planned out. Our victory is definitely assured."

As the sole Noble Sister who had to get down and dirty, Eos disliked how much Viridi was getting credited despite not even being the one to gather the experience for Vy herself. Daydreaming about more insults to throw her older sister's way, the silhouette of a limping black body slowly made it into her peripherals. Dressed as a plague doctor Eos heard her sister read to her about many times, the shambling clearly favored his right leg to the point she thought he'd lost part of his motor controls.

Horrifyingly, a giant knot formed on the unsightly suit's backside, straining the black body-covering suit to the point of bursting. Watching him with the due diligence of a protector, she stood between the strange man and the armor covering Vy. Unexpectedly, the man's right arm slowly melted off by its joint, black ooze slowly dribbling down the leather exterior. The limb dropped onto the ground, with Eos noticing the empty syringe the gloved hand was grasping.

Unable to walk anymore due to the increasing bloating of his own body, the plague doctor's knees buckled, falling face-down onto the ground. Like a mindless zombie, the remaining left arm weakly pulled his lifeless body towards them. It was not just the mysterious plague doctor which made Eos cautious, but also the surrounding crowd of orcs had dissipated upon the doctor's appearance. If the last council member was anything to judge with, there was probably some kind of gimmick going on with the plague doctor.

Swelling to the size of a small boulder, the black suit strained heavily to contain whatever was inside, while the black ooze from his missing arm increased to a mighty stream. Being mindful of the child in her care, Eos grabbed Vy and leaped away before the suit could pop like a balloon. Jumping in the direction they had started from, she landed with a heavy thud onto the ground. Freeing the young princess in her charge, Vy took a deep breath after Eos took back the helm of her mother's precious armor.

Little by little, the vantablack metal resized itself to fit the towering titan. From far away, where she left the decaying man, an animalistic screech rumbled through the air and the ground. A tiny and frightful gasp followed quickly after, as Eos looked to the distraught child slowly stepping away from the source. The same black ooze from earlier spread like wildfire, consuming the piles of bodies Eos had created. Limb by limb, orifice by orifice, bone by bone, every piece of meat began entangling themselves into a spherical ball.

Watching the cancerous mass swell from the bodies it consumed, Eos spoke with caution for the first time, "Princess Vy, listen to me carefully." Feeling the child's attention and eyes back onto her and away from the hideous creature birthing itself, she said, "Look for my sister; she will keep you safe."

Fearing she might have to use another [Courage of Achilles], the elven child bowed understandingly and left Eos as requested. Trusting Vy to take care of herself, Eos looked fearlessly at the discolored outer skin of the bloody mass. It continued its gestation, pulling in more and more bodies, feverishly consuming them for nutrients. Barely able to hold its own tissues together, globs of assimilated flesh constantly peeled off, only to be reeled back in by the black ooze, spraying blood everywhere.

Finally taking its intended form, the lumpy sphere Eos saw earlier turned into a horrendously undeveloped fetus. Instead of the soft wails of an actual baby, the abomination shrieked aloud into the sky, as if in pain from merely existing. The scream sent a shockwave through the air, propelling dust outward everywhere. Eos expected mangled skin dangling from the atrocity, but instead, it was just limbs pieced together into the shape of a giant fetus. Arms and legs from varying races —hands and feet, hooves and wings — the end result was more akin to a Frankenstein's monster. A pop erupted from behind the monster, as liquid tendrils burst from the fetus' back. It knew no boundary between friend or foe, as any fleeing demihumans was used to add body mass all the same, not showing any indication it's noticing Eos's gigantic presence.

Losing all her mobility again within the Uru armor, Eos's was mildly ticked off at the developing situation. Unable to quickly deny the monster any chance to form, all she could do was deal with it when it arrived here. One foot after another, the heavy thuds of her armor mixed with the screams of the orcs and the cries of the fetus. Quietly grumbling to herself about having to do all the heavy lifting, she was angrier at the fact of how long it was going to take to finish off the monster.

Unlike the two youngest Noble Sisters, Eos and Viridi were not DPS NPCs. Eos had the potential to have the highest DPS among them, yes, but only under very specific conditions. Unfortunately for her, no one within the low-level horde army did any substantial damage to her, only ever chipping off one HP at a time from her massive health pool. Clicking her tongue in annoyance and wondering how to hold the favor she had over Viridi's head, the titan was going to make sure to annoy her eldest sister as much as she could after all of this.

Finally back where she started, the fetus slowly turned the demigod. Every pair of eyes on the mismatched body turned to look at her. In synchrony, every mouth opened to speak at once.

**We are [Legion]...**

* * *

**A/N:** The final chapter regarding the New World stuff. After this it will be Thor's arc. Thank you for reading and all the feedback.


	17. Chapter 17 - Best Intentions

Back in Asgard from her New World trip, Nanami silently stealthed her way past the guards on duty with ease. Like a phantom with no real identity, she jumped between each flicker of torchlight, hiding inside the darkness invisible to normal eyes. Even the watchful eyes of the Valkyries failed to notice Toreii's youngest daughter, as Nanami's presence was nothing more than a gentle breeze through the stone hallways. Slipping by the guards, she only stopped once she was inside of Toreii's shared bedchamber.

Frigga was alert and ready with her red-tipped blade drawn directly at the sudden intrusion. Born and raised as a warrior at heart, marriage and motherhood did little to slow her trained instincts. Despite not being able to see who had entered their sacred bedchamber, the Queen of Asgard knew well enough the only person's identity brave enough to enter without notice. Sighing inside and silently mouthing, '_Forgive me…'_ to the shadow standing at their doorway, Frigga put away the demonic sword back into its icy sheath after her realization.

Although there was a chance it could not have been Nanami, but an actual assassin, Frigga doubted there could ever be anyone capable of concealing themselves as well as Odin's own daughter. Getting out of bed with as little movement as possible as to not wake her beloved, her bare feet shivered at the cold chill of their stone flooring. Greeting her newest daughter at the door, Frigga welcomed the quiet girl back.

Getting close enough to see Nanami's proper form, she continued their silent conversation after learning the girl's ability to read lips several nights ago. Although they could continue communicating, it would very much be a one-sided talk. Still, wanting to get along better with the girl, Frigga gently led her by the hand to a small table with a tea set. Normally, she would have had the maids prepare refreshments for their guest, but given the circumstance, Frigga did not mind doing it herself.

Since visiting her beloved's second home, she has received a variety of gifts from Viridi. From fresh fruits to dried fruits, nuts and mushrooms, or even tea leaves, the angelic elf had a natural talent for picking the best produce, better than the best merchant in all of Álfheim. Given the busy schedule of both husband and wife, Frigga barely had the time to formally write a letter expressing her gratitude to the elf.

With Nanami seated, Frigga wasted no time procuring the special blend of tea leaves gifted by Toreii's eldest daughter. Having hidden the gifts in a place the maids would not discover, the ceremonial tea procedure was similarly performed as silently as possible. Placing the tea bag into the white, porcelain teapot, she poured water into it from an enchanted pitcher which would never run out or get cold, maintaining the not-quite-boiling water forever as soon as she closed the lid on the teapot with no need for an open flame.

Bringing over a small lantern, Frigga's eyes slowly adjusted to the yellow glow of its light. On the lowest setting, the lantern's light barely covered the end of their small table, but it was enough to peel away the black shadow Nanami seemed to be always covering herself with naturally. The girl's bright purple eyes were attentive as always, matching the monk robes she always wore. Unlike their last meeting, however, the quiet girl left a piece of parchment on the table. Held shut by a ribbon of white silk, Frigga guessed it was probably addressed to her beloved.

Even though Nanami had come for business reasons, Frigga beckoned for the girl to at least stay for some tea. Seeing as the girl did not move from her chair, she was somewhat relieved her newest daughter was not outright avoiding her. To switch from such an outgoing son — the likes of Thor — to someone who avoided words like the plague like Nanami was a rough start to their relationship. She did not know how to handle their little interactions very well, but she chalked it up to Nanami's shyness and her own rigidity.

Pouring for Nanami first, and then her own, the hot steam of their brownish tea wafted in the air, filling it with an earthy scent. Judging from the smell alone, Frigga would have given Viridi's brew solid remarks, on par with even Álfheim's finest. Taking her first sip, her drinking posture was typically socially-appropriate. Under the guise of drinking her tea, she watched anxiously for Nanami's reaction.

Noticing the familiar scent of her older sister's tea leaves, Nanami knew for certain the quality was assured. Taking her own sips of the tea, she quietly enjoyed the moment with her new stepmother. It was a new and unexpected venture for her, but Nanami was willing to give the benefit of the doubt to Frigga, if only for her mother's sake. There was no denying Toreii's dependency on the Queen's talents, as she was more than capable of doing any kind of busy work with due diligence every time.

Silently sipping away at the tea, the yellow glow of the lantern was slowly replaced by the sun's. Red and orange streaks lit up the sky as dawn finally broke. For Asgard, a giant floating city in the sky, first light would always hit them before anyone else. Clocks were not always employed by the Asgardians when most would rise and fall with the sun. As for Toreii, it was not the bright yellow sun which awoke her, but the imaginary grumbling of her stomach.

As Ai was no stranger to waking up well past noon on days she could, her only alarm clock on those days was her hunger. Today was also such a day, but since her involuntary starvation was more than a month long now, sleep was an afterthought. Gently rousing from her warm and comfy bed sheets, there was a lapse in her memory of how she even got to bed. Driven by her most basic instinct, Toreii rolled out of bed without any consideration for her whereabouts out of habit.

Had Nanami not intervened once more, the young deity would have surely landed on the hard stone below face-first. Groggy and hungry, Toreii fumbled aimlessly in Nanami's grasp, still half-dreaming of all the food she never ate. The faint sound of Frigga's voice echoed in her ear, as the gears in her mind slowly began working again from their nightly rest.

"Are you alright, my beloved?" Frigga asked, knowing well enough of Nanami's capabilities by now.

Forcing herself to focus through rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes, Toreii saw the admiring eyes of her youngest daughter. Holding her softly in a princess hold, Nanami let her stabilize before the deity touched the ground again. Of all her senses to wake up the fastest, her nose quickly picked up on the tea's strong aroma. Having neither the time or luxury to try it in her own world, the earthy smell was a new sensation for her.

"I'm… fine," Toreii yawned with tears in her eyes. Still trying to shake off her half-asleep mind, she floated to the freshly poured tea cup Frigga had ready for her. Although it was not solid sustenance, anything to fill her stomach was worth her entire fortune at this point. Unfamiliar with the ways of tea, Toreii gulped half the cup without consideration for the taste or temperature. Bitterness twisted her taste buds while her throat suffered in burning agony from the unexpected chug. Launching into a coughing fit, Toreii wondered if she should drink again to calm her throat.

"My beloved, are you well?" Frigga gasped while lightly patting the tiny deity on her back. Never once had she watched anyone down tea in such a manner, and wondered why the Allfather, of all people, would put himself through such pain so early in the morning.

Unable to speak yet, Toreii merely waved her hand in the air to reassure her wife she was, in fact, not dying. There were many stupid things she had done in her life, but choking on hot tea was the newest thing added to the long list now. Drinking the rest of the tea properly this time, she calmed her throat enough to ease the worried glances Nanami and Frigga looked at her with, as her body's natural resistance to heat damage superficially kicked in immediately.

One surprise after another – Toreii noticed for the first time her usually quiet daughter drinking tea with an Asgardian without her asking them to. Despite her earlier apprehension of mingling her own NPCs with the Asgardians after seeing their first interaction together, it was a nice surprise to see them getting along without causing any trouble. All in all, ignoring the tea fiasco, it was a great start to her day.

Getting her mother's attention, Nanami obediently handed off the neatly-tied parchment to the deity. Proud to be of use to both her mother and older sisters, Nanami silently watched Toreii's reaction and waited for the praise to start flowing… any second now. However, her smile slowly weaned after Toreii continued to read in silence, flipping the parchment over to the other side to see if there was more to it, rereading it several times, but still coming to the same conclusion.

Hoping she was only getting punked by her daughters, Ai searched desperately for some kind of sarcasm hidden within the report. Furling and unfurling the scroll again and again, each time, more of her pool of hope evaporated into smoke.

With emotions running high inside of her mind, she spoke her train of thought aloud, "YOU DID WHAT?!"

* * *

The Shinto Deity maniacally paced in a circular loop around the guilty party. Her eldest and second eldest daughters both had their heads closely pressed onto the ground in a regretful bow. Fear easily surrounded them along the pitter patter of their mother's footsteps, like a shark circling a struggling fish. Right behind them, also bowing with shame, were Vy and Nanami, unable to look Toreii in the eye as they awaited her judgement.

Hiding behind the Parthenon's alabaster columns were the other elves, silent and unable to breathe, lest they drew attention to themselves as well.

At the bottom of the steps was the only non-guilty party in this huge mess Toreii had deal with: Thassa, the Atlantean mermaid. The second-youngest Noble Sister was wearing a golden tiara with matching gold seashell bra, proud to showcase she was the most well-endowed among all her sisters. Resting her tail upon a similarly gold trident, she floated inside her magical bubble of water so clear it invisible to notice from afar, blending with the air effortlessly. Like her oldest sister, her ears were similarly pointy, but unlike the traditional depictions of a mermaid, she lacked any visible gills on her chest or neck.

Joining her was Frigga, sitting awkwardly at the bottom of the steps. From the moment they entered the Parthenon to now, no words were spoken besides the occasional grumbles Toreii accidentally let out, her anguish clearly reaching its boiling point. Every now and then, she thought to break the silence for the sake of her newly-discovered daughters, but the pacing Allfather made her reconsider putting herself on the line of fire.

No, she was mistaken earlier. There _was_ another sound within the Parthenon: the gentle splashing of fountain water, and the muffled screams of a female elf, tied up and gagged struggling against her restraints. Other than the unknown new prisoner, no one made a peep.

The gears inside Ai's mind had stopped spinning a while ago. At first, she thought about what to say to her daughters, which eventually degraded to only thinking about what to say full stop. Not so long after that, her mind went numb and devoid of all legible thought. She was shocked and flabbergasted – never once did she give _**any**_ orders to Viridi or Eos allowing them to do as they pleased in the New World. It was one thing to allow Nanami to observe the humans she was tracking… and it was another to fight in an all-out racial war!

Switching between tightly grasping her mouth shut and palming her frustration out onto her reddened forehead, all Ai wanted to do now was scream from the bottom of her heart. The _only_ order she explicitly gave her eldest was to teach Vy some magic. How her NPC interpreted the command to '_finish this racial war'_ was beyond her comprehension.

She honestly did not know what to do.

In the back of her head, a tiny silver lining tried to cheer her up, '_At least it wasn't Thor!'_

Her situation was now akin to losing a couple of city-wide destructive missiles and using the defense of '_I still have my nuke right here!'_ at her Hague trial. What exactly did she have to do? Viridi and Eos already spent most of their lives inside of the Parthenon anyway. She could not take away their levels, nor did she have any room to store their equipment if she were to do so. The biggest hit to her mental health right now was the loss of her cash item.

According to Nanami's report, her Super-Tier cash item had been used to wipe out the orcs invading the elven nation. She thought nothing of it at first, considering she used her own stash all the time during solo raids. The glaring problem which struck her like an ax to the head was the fact her NPC so readily used it… right in front of the New World natives. Without Yggdrasil's servers running anymore, restocking her cash items was unlikely, so what she had on hand would be her only supply. On the brightside, Vy was the only native left alive who saw Eos use her [Hourglass].

Most of the orc army had been wiped out by Eos while Nanami watched for deserters and escapees, killing everyone her older sister did not. It was troubling to think her NPCs were completely fine with wiping out millions of lives, as long it somehow fell in line with Toreii's orders. '_Mom said it's my turn to genocide!'_ kept playing over and over inside her head as she tried to rationalize what her daughters had done. She was not exactly a pacifist herself, considering her own killing of the hydra not too long ago, but it _technically_ was only a single kill.

She was at her limit.

Breaking out of the infinite loop around her daughters, Toreii made her way to the water fountain. All eyes watched her closely, including Viridi's and Eos'. Ignoring the surprised look from the tied-up elf, Toreii dunked her entire head into the cooling water of the basin. Shocked gasps spread behind her as the deity screamed like a banshee. Letting out all her frustration at once, the water muffled her voice while air bubbles trickled up.

Ai had no experience being a mother. Gaining three sons, a daughter-in-law, and four of her own daughters at once made her life ten times more challenging. All of her children were gods in their own right, so how exactly could she punish them? She wished her own mother was here now. None of her self-help books had sections on mother-daughter relationships and it was not like she had online forums anymore.

A light tap on her shoulder brought Toreii back to reality. Bringing her head back up, Frigga's concerned eyes were the first to greet her strained sanity. Seeing the Queen of Asgard again slowly cleared the cobwebs in her brain.

Reminded of her wife's place in Asgard and whom she had to raise, Toreii thought to herself, '_Frigga handled Thor and Loki by herself, didn't she? Maybe I should ask her! But… Viridi and Eos might think I'm a bad mom if I let someone else parent them…'_

It seemed the time spent learning how to be a king severely hindered her ability to learn how to be a proper parent. Ever since her NPCs became her real-life daughters, Toreii was only ever concerned with ruling the Asgardians. By ignoring her children, it came back to bite her. As she was now the Allfather and mother to the Noble Sisters, she had to make time for _all of them_. Releasing a tired sigh, the throbbing of too many facepalms remained on her wet face.

Heading back to her daughters with a worried Frigga right behind her, Toreii gently rubbed the bridge of her nose like she was still wearing her real-life glasses. In and out, one deep breath after another, she closed her eyes to calm her nerves. These were not gods she was dealing with, but instead kids who took her credit card to buy fireworks to kill ants with — it was the closest real-world comparison she could currently make. The scale might have been off by a large amount, but Ai needed to normalize her problems right now.

Grabbing everyone's attention again by clearing her throat, she spoke first to the sisters, "Viridi, Eos." The duo lifted their heads to meet Toreii's gaze, worry and fear running through their eyes. Taking a load off, the young deity lazily stretched her legs while sitting on the lowest rung of the stone steps. What exactly was she feeling right now? Anger? Disappointment? Perhaps even scared… for the safety of everyone involved?

"I know both of you did what you did with the best intentions in mind, **but…** you should always tell me beforehand. I'm not saying you always have to ask for _permission_, but at the very least, I should know what you two are doing. Please also keep in mind I do not like to be surprised with news – good or bad. What you two did was for the sake of teaching Vy magic… and I understand that. What I will not condone, however, is the free use of your magic, skills, and _my_ items. I know it was Eos who used the cash item, and it was also her who used the Super-Tier spell, but it was ultimately _you_, Viridi, who called her. Both of you will share the blame for this."

Undecided on how exactly to punish them, Toreii would have to ask Frigga later in private. For now, all she could muster was the groundwork of their newfound parent-child relation. All her experiences of motherhood were examples from her own mother… and mostly self-reflection of how cringy she was growing up. She had to be stern, but not overbearing. Her daughters needed to think for themselves, as Toreii was also needed by the Asgardians.

Looking now to Vy and Nanami, their involvement was not on the scale of the two eldest Noble Sisters. Toreii honestly felt bad for the elfling, considering the unexpected field trip took her right to the epicenter of her race's worst enemy. Starting with her youngest daughter first, she spoke in a gentler tone, "Since you were just listening to your older sisters, Nanami, I don't see the main fault falling to you, but… Please contact me next time, no matter how busy I may be or how insignificant you think the situation is."

The quiet girl was on the verge of tears while waiting for her mother's judgement. Relieved at the light outcome of her Toreii's wrath, she still prayed for forgiveness for her older sisters. Nodding her head in agreement, she ingrained her mother's words permanently into her memory.

Toreii did not understand why Vy had stood with her daughters like she was just as guilty as them. If anything, the princess was a victim who suffered from her daughter's misunderstandings of Ai's intentions. She wanted to put dealing with the New World and its natives off temporarily, but it seemed her plans had accelerated themselves. The elven kingdom was going to start asking important questions, and Toreii needed to be there to lie about all of them. If Nanami had truly eliminated every witness in the horde army, then only those left in the human alliance should have any knowledge of her daughters and their capabilities.

"Princess Vy," said Toreii. Immediately upon speaking her name, the child tensed up like a deer in headlights. Since the report was from Nanami, she expected some bias in her daughters' favor. Looking to get a second opinion, she gingerly asked lighthearted questions for the fearful elf, "Please be at ease; I know your involvement was forced upon you. Is there anything you wish to say to me?"

"Yes…" Vy barely squeaked out. Being on the frontline of the battle and witnessing what a _demigod_ was capable of achieving, her imagination of Toreii's own might frightened her. Still, she was not blameless in all of this. Mustering all the courage her aching heart could handle, she spoke her own truth, "Please do not get angry at Lady Viridi or Lady Eos. Fault should solely fall onto me and me alone. It was my greed for learning higher-tier magic which pushed Lady Viridi to do what she did. I instigated all of this; therefore, I am the original sinner."

Shocked by the confession, Toreii looked back to her daughters, "Is what she said true, Viridi?"

"No, Mother. There were a multitude of ways for me to teach Princess Vy higher-tier magic without involving her and the outside world. Had I used better discretion, all of this could have been avoided. Only I should be seeking your forgiveness," said Viridi stoically and without hesitation.

Although Toreii was proud to see the maturity her eldest daughter had, Viridi's student quickly shifted the blame onto herself again, immediately following the ancient elf's response. "That is not the full story, Mistress Toreii. My persistence for learning the 7th-Tier was what ultimately caused Lady Viridi to accelerate my lesson plan and to go to such extremes. Were it not for my selfish need for power, much of the bloodshed could have been avoided," interjected Vy.

"Please disregard the nonsensical rambling of my apprentice, Mother. As her teacher and mentor, all responsibility for her will rest with me. All parties involved started with me asking for their help, so only I am truly at fault," snapped Viridi.

As the princess was unable to see the bigger picture, Viridi was trying to limit the damage as best she could in a way she could somewhat control. If anyone could handle the full anger and wrath of Toreii's fury, as the deity's eldest daughter, Viridi should be the first line of flesh wall. Looking at her mother straight in the eyes, the ancient elf's main concern now was directing Toreii's attention to her.

Toreii watched Vy fumble through her own thoughts for a counterargument to Viridi, but Ai had decided she heard enough already. Halting any comeback the princess was formulating with a wave of her hand, Toreii went back to her silent mulling. She needed the punishment to have positive effects overall, while masking her intention of keeping a closer watch on their actions from now on. Explicitly restricting them to only the Parthenon would not change much from their usual lives, but Toreii feared resentment starting among the sisters if only Nanami had exclusive rights to the New World.

Worse yet, she still had no plans for the elven kingdom. Ten million orcs did not just magically disappear in a single day without someone noticing, especially when Super-Tier spells were involved. Toreii would have to make a statement sooner or later, lest someone else would claim credit for her children's efforts. Contemplating whether her children's existence would be the New World's downfall, Ai felt like a terrible mother for thinking so low of her own flesh and blood.

"Viridi and Eos, your punishments will be equal to each other's. I'll give you more details when I get back from the elven kingdom," a disgruntled Toreii announced.

As she was preparing to use the same sigil her daughter had inscribed onto the city limit, the Queen of Asgard quickly got Toreii's attention. "Pardon my intrusion, my love, but are you heading there _immediately_?" asked Frigga. A quizzical look from the inexperienced ruler told the Queen all she needed to know. "As the Allfather, your unannounced presence in another kingdom might be seen as a declaration of war, by either our people or theirs. If your attendance is truly needed within this elven kingdom, please let me send a messenger first. It should take only a week at most, I promise you. A King as great as you cannot be received without notice," beckoned Frigga.

Letting out a tired sigh, Toreii agreed, "Do as you wish. I trust your judgement." As someone who never got around to a problem once it left her mind, Ai hoped deep within her heart it was more of an official visit than a national event.

* * *

Since the start of the week-long wait, Toreii had been watching her daughters carry out their punishment with diligence. With the intent to keep a closer on them without either of them suspecting it, both of them were moved up to Odin's castle. Viridi had been tasked with becoming Frigga's personal handmaiden, following the Queen wherever she went and waiting on her. As for Eos, she had joined the ranks of the Valkyries, serving as a squire to Lady Sif.

Now being able to keep watch on their whereabouts without worry, all Toreii had to do was prepare for the visit to the elven kingdom. Although they were being punished, both of her daughters did not seem to mind as they were now able to see their mother on a daily basis. Still, Toreii felt a tinge of regret leaving Thassa to guard her Parthenon by herself, especially with the needs of the elf refugees. There was not much she could do beside visiting the Atlantean every time she returned to her second home.

On the day of their arrival, the tallest tower in all of Asgard glowed a rainbow of colors, and the [Bifrost] teleported the Asgardians to their first New World encounter.

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you guys for reading and your patience. I've been trying to keep the updates consistent and have read your feedback. I'll try to get new chapters out faster in the future.


	18. Chapter 18 - Asgardians Abroad

Greeting her mother with a respectful bow, Nanami stood ready at the teleportation location. After learning much of the Asgardian customs from passing conversations within the castle, Nanami presented herself best as to fit the image the warrior society would expect of her. As the messenger between both nations, she would not fail her mother a second time.

Just like any security detail escorting a king into a foreign land, two dozen silver Valkyries marched from where the rainbow beam landed. In a reverse-V formation, the females moved in unison, with their captain, Lady Sif, the last to join their rank while sitting upon a pegasus.

Right behind the beautiful warriors was **the** Thunder God himself, Thor Odinson. Black, gold, and silver armor protected his chest, arms, and legs as the heir to Odin's throne scanned the land with his thundering blue eyes. With golden, silky locks of hair matching his wife, Thor's attention eventually drew back near his newlywed. Breathing in the fresh forest air, excitement ran through his veins. Perhaps, for the first time in a month, Thor would be back _fighting_, instead of dealing with boring court matters.

Second-to-last to arrive were Frigga, dressed in a gold-tinted cream-colored gown, accompanied by Viridi slightly behind and to her side. Dressed in a similar maid outfit given to Gratia, the ancient elf matched the Queen's steps perfectly, keeping exactly five paces apart. It was difficult for Nanami to gauge how she felt about Eos' and Viridi's punishments, but given how easily they were let off, she thanked her mother's kind heart everyday.

Last to arrive, and dressed very poorly for the occasion, was Toreii who lacked any social awareness. In her ever-persistent red-and-white shrine maiden robes, the deity was subjected to the unfortunate reality of '_We can't tell a king what to wear!'_ Now, in front of the elves and their last kingdom, Ai's hindsight proved to be as great as ever. Feeling as prepared as her worst procrastinating student, she deeply regretted never learning to properly dress herself.

Wondering if it was still too late to head back and quickly change into something more decorative for the occasion, Vy's own clothing situation was partially to blame for herself forgetting to dress up. Wearing nothing but the breezy toga given to her when she arrived, the returning princess turned out to have no qualms about her appearance whatsoever, wasting Ai's worries. Remembering the child had originally ran away from home, Ai had second thoughts about whether or not bringing her would be emotionally taxing.

To Toreii's surprise, Vy showed neither malice nor sadness about her homecoming.

Standing at attention before a boulder-sized wooden gate was a fleet of armored soldiers, boldly holding the flag of the human alliance. Three sections of flags were evenly spaced out: the first set of blue were for the human kingdoms, the green for the elven kingdoms, and finally the gold/brown for the dwarves, with their respective complicated insignias.

Following the proper ceremonial proceedings Frigga had explained to her, Toreii continued to hover at and around Vy's walking speed. Even after reading Nanami's report and hearing Viridi's, Ai had expected a grander castle. As the last standing kingdom of the elven nation, the status alone bolstered her image of the great fortress to be something on par with a guild's personal base. Yet, looking at it now, it was no different than the copy-and-paste raid dungeons she often quested for materials and data crystals.

Glad to see Nanami was alive and well, Toreii kept her composure around the Asgardians while still sending her daughter a gentle smile. Never once thinking of leaving Asgard with any of their residents, walking in broad daylight and in an open path felt strange to her. As she lived her life on constant lookout for PKers, her natural PvP instincts never truly let herself feel at ease.

However, this was before Thor became her acting bodyguard.

Having watched the live broadcast of various guilds' attempts to force their way into Odin's castle back in Yggdrasil, Toreii knew better than anyone to doubt the Odinson's absurdly over-tuned and overpowered kit. Min-maxers would have to spend years trying to decipher Thor's full combat potential, but without the dev's authority over Asgard, no one would truly know of his full strength.

That's how it usually went in Yggdrasil: gather information over many, _many_ premeditated deaths of raid parties. So long as they had put up post-death item theft countermeasures, the information gained was at almost no cost; such is the way of Yggdrasil, as the game necessitated this kind of playstyle. The mark of top guilds was clearing these challenges in one go with a mixture of preparation, foresight, reflexes, skill, and luck.

The only downside could be if she was forced to let him loose. Like Pandora's Box, once people knew of the Odinson's full might, the world would forever be changed.

While Nanami joined their ranks right beside Frigga, their merry band of Asgardians continued through the main gate of the king's castle. Along the way, Toreii noticed the quiet whispers and pointing from several noble elves, all of whom had recognized the Third Princess upon first glance. Sticking close to the young deity, the ex-princess did her best to ignore their glances. Still new to the whole 'ruling over others' job she unknowingly signed up for, Ai lacked the knowledge of the social standing of nobles, but she knew enough when someone was being looked down on.

As someone who had to meticulously fight her way to power all her Yggdrasil life, Toreii knew the struggles of being weak. She was no stranger to seeking power for oneself, nor was she a slouch in retaining her power. Just like every other Player she had fought and killed, everyone strove to become stronger. _Everyone_.

Up in front, Lady Sif had dismounted upon entering the inner castle. Despite not being able to look behind her, she was keen to the blushful gaze female humans and elves looked at her husband with. A lip bite here and there; a wandering glance from a group of young girls, followed by a quiet union of giggles. She knew of the Odinson's charm, but to see others swooning over her betrothed slightly bothered the up-and-coming Princess of Asgard.

The oaf in question was still all smiles, looking happily at his wife while waving at the passersby.

Back to Ai and her growing worries, she had resorted to using the same calming techniques she had subconsciously developed, the fine wood of [Gungnir]'s shaft in her palm alleviated her growing worries. Seeing the rapidly-increasing number of nobles, all she could do was trust in her experience gained with interacting with the elf child calmly walking beside her.

While they both weathered the storm of social conformity, it's for different reasons. Ai's mind wandered all over the place simply due to hunger, constantly thinking to sneak in a piece of chocolate before they reached the king's court.

Snapping back to attention when she noticed everyone stopped moving – as she'd been moving on autopilot since who-knew-when –Toreii saw the greying visage of the elven king on his golden throne. Beside him, in equally outstanding armor and magical items, were a human and dwarf, both of whom she guessed were the other leaders in their alliance.

Magical lanterns mounted on marbled stone columns decorated the grand court. The windows were slightly tinted green to emphasize their forest-themed home, despite the castle being ironically made of grey rock. The court was filled with men and their sons, sometimes a wife here and there, but mostly what Toreii expected out of an actual court of nobles. All of them were dressed in either armor or fine clothing, while her own simple robes failed to show any semblance of sophistry.

From her lack of any kind of social life, Ai failed to notice the knights and nobles ogling over Frigga and her Valkyries. The human nobles who had traveled with their soldiers were the main culprit. Even within the united elven kingdom with many beautiful elves to catch their eye, the Asgardians easily slid into the center spotlight upon their arrival.

"I, King Bilfir Lyur Nythymyr, personally welcome you, King Odin, and your Asgardians, to our elven home of Gallahan," the king spoke in a raspy voice.

"As do I, Prince Wilmer Coffer, heir to the Alota Kingdom."

"And I as well, King Nordum Tinhelm, ruler of the dwarf nation of Minnotra."

Getting up from his throne, his two companions followed the elven king, all three of them wearing a warm smile. Vy's father then summarily shook hands with the only male in their party to arrive.

Thor awkwardly returned the handshake while his back ran cold from the glares he knew the Valkyries and the Queen of Asgard was giving the poor king.

"Uh… I'm terri-"

Loudly clearing her throat to draw every noble's attention, Frigga's expression was cold enough to kill a frost giant. "To **whom** are you greeting, King Nythymyr? I have no doubt my son will one day ascend the throne, but my beloved, King Odin, is still alive and well."

Hearing her other name being called, Toreii's focus returned from looking at the architecture to the scene at hand. Frigga's usual warm and kind demeanor she was used to seeing was replaced by a colder, wrathful anger. Finally reading the mood in the room, Toreii had to act quick to stem any further aggression.

Poor Thor… Stuck between an awkward position and his mother's scorn, even he knew better than anyone to be the center of attention right now. "I believe you are mistaken, King Nythymyr… I am Thor _Odinson_. My father is standing with your daughter," he clarified, trying to clear his name and absolve himself of his mother's anger.

The trio as well as the assembly corrected their vision, shifting from the strong and imposing God of Thunder to a child no older than twelve years old. Toreii, who had suddenly grabbed everyone's eyes, meekly smiled and gave a weak wave of hello. Silence filled the entire court as the onlookers continued to stare blankly at her in disbelief. Trying to ease everyone's tension, Toreii started walking to where the elven king stood.

While the Asgardians towered above everyone else present, the top of the deity's pigtails could barely reach the dwarf king's full height. Now feeling the full weight of being the centerpiece, the pressure she felt during her three-day meeting with the Asgardians came back to haunt her.

Returning the elven king's handshake, Ai tried to act as natural as possible. "I-It's a pleasure to meet you all, King Nythymyr, King Tinhelm, and Prince Coffer. I am Odin, Allfather of Asgard," introduced Toreii. Not sure whether she was trying to convince them or herself of her title, Ai did her best to remember the nobility lessons Vy had given her. "My people and I are grateful for the hospitality you have shown us on such short notice."

The alliance leaders took a long look at Toreii while carefully judging her validity with glances over at Frigga's direction. Seeing the Queen clearly smitten with the young, adolescent girl right in front of them, they fought against their better judgement to call the entire introduction bullshit. Breaking the silence from their side, the elven king softly asked, "_You_… are King Odin?"

"I am the Allfather, yes," Toreii confirmed immediately. Still seeing their confused expressions, she beckoned for Vy to come forth be her mediator. "Princess Vy can vouch for me… if you need further explanation."

Standing next to the goddess who saved her life, Vy respectfully bowed to each leader. Having been briefed by Viridi on the Asgardians, her mentor had prepared her well in advance in case the peaceful talks were to ever break down. Seeing the same unwavering face her father made when they were first united, she knew for sure now which side of history she would stand with.

Vy eagerly spoke with the confidence of someone backed by the heavens, "The God before you is Odin, Allfather of the Nine Realms and the one to stand above _all_; the bringer of peace and prosperity to all who subject themselves to his majesty and benevolence."

'_Allfather or Odin would have sufficed…'_ mumbled Ai inside her mind. She did not like having so many titles attached to her name, since she would have to remember all of it, or likely have to remember the titles of other rulers as well. If she failed the latter, one of her precious people might just murder the other parties in reflex.

The high elves within the king's court were the first to murmur among their kind, looking back and forth between their long-lost Third Princess and her father. To hear the crown's own blood speak so boldly of another nation's ruler right in front of the entire court was beyond traitorous to them, and a weakening of the king's claim to the throne.

His raspy voice quickly silenced his people, as the elven king looked directly at his daughter in the eyes, "Princ-"

"Vy. My name is simply Vy. I have no titles or surname," the elf child snapped.

Toreii and the other two alliance leaders stood around like the odd ones out, waiting for the next move from the father and daughter.

"I was mistaken. Can I inquire then why a mere _child_ believes she has any kind of **authority** to speak in my court? Especially now, with this mockery of an introduction. Am I really to believe this… **child** is a king?!" King Nythymyr yelled with his dying voice.

Immediately stopping her Valkyries before they drew their weapons with a flip of her hand, Toreii turned back to give a frightfully angry Frigga a gentle, calming look. Some part of her still believed she should have just gone alone, but after seeing the aftermath of locking up her children in the Parthenon, for better or worse, the Asgardians _needed_ freedom in the New World, with perhaps _a lot_ of guidance.

"I can understand your reasoning, King Nythymyr; my appearance is somewhat _unexpected_ for the first time people meet me. However, I can assure you, I am my people's ruler and protector. As I understand, if Vy is unsuited in your eyes to vouch on my behalf, how else will I prove my title to you?" Toreii asked.

Although there was some regret having chosen a loli for her in-game character, if given the choice again, Ai would not change a single thing. Given the number of perils and hard-fought PvP matches through her entire Yggdrasil career, the difficulties in her future interactions felt… underwhelming.

Coming to his father's rescue, Thor wholeheartedly answered for them, "If there is a question about **worthiness**, I have a solution for us all." Bringing forth his lifelong trusty weapon of choice, Mjölnir, the double-crowned hammer seemed a bit small to be used by a warrior of his stature. Ignoring the elven guards ready to draw their swords on the God of Thunder brandishing his hammer in front of their king, Thor easily placed it in front of the trio and the Allfather.

"Even if another god tried, unless they are worthy to wield it, Mjölnir cannot be lifted by anyone lesser than I," explained Thor. His overwhelming charm and warmth easily broke through the hostility and doubt the alliance members looked at Toreii with. Gesturing for them to try as many times as they pleased, each member tried their best to lift the mythical World-Class item.

Had this been suggested in front of Players in Yggdrasil, Toreii would have said a strong 'no' to even _think_ of such a stupid test. Of all the World-Class items within Asgard, even if Mjölnir can only be wielded by those it deemed worthy, it would spell disaster if a Player was able to get their hands on it. Ai was only entertaining Thor's idea because she had no immediate proof of her Allfather-ship.

One by one, each member tried their best and with great effort to lift the small magical hammer, especially the dwarven king. A few chuckles from the dwarf king's own men could be softly heard when King Tinhelm failed miserably to lift the small hammer, to the point of exasperating himself. Even with his pride on the line, his calloused hands failed to even get a small budge. Admitting defeat and swallowing his pride, the old muscular man breathed out an exhausted breath.

As all of them recognized the truth in Thor's words, everyone in the court waited for the kingship-claiming adolescent to take her turn.

Lifting the hammer easily as if it weighed less than air, Toreii held Mjölnir with a single hand while everyone else failed to even lift it when working together. To further prove the hammer's security enchantment, she gestured for the dwarf king to grasp the hammer's handle. Immediately after, upon releasing her own grip, Mjölnir dropped to the stone floor again, sending out a loud echo through the chamber.

Dismayed at the sight of a little girl lifting the hammer but being unable to do so himself, King Tinhelm officially recognized Toreii's claim, soon followed by the human prince. Only the elven king was left, the sole doubter of the deity's true identity. Flying back to its original owner, Mjölnir returned to Thor's hand while he kept up his welcoming smile. "Will that be enough proof for now?"

"Please forgive me, but I am going to need further proof than just the lifting of a single hammer," answered the elven king.

* * *

The Odinson did what the Odinson did best, which was wowing his admirers as they ooh-ed and aah-ed from his athleticism. Participating in a series of Olympic Games-like events, Thor lived up to his humongous base stats. While the mortals watching were impressed by the God of Thunder, the other Asgardians kept to themselves as if it were business as usual.

The last test Thor had overachieved in was using his might to destroy several different metal ingots laid together. As Vy had explained the different metals of the New World to Toreii, from copper to adamantine, after seeing Thor's test of strength by smashing through all of them at once, she decided the precious metals were not worth investing her time into. Noblewomen elves who swooned openly at the God of Thunder's prowess did not seem to care about his wife who was nearby, who throughout the entire ordeal kept rolling her eyes every time Thor received a compliment.

Like the Asgardians at home, everyone's affection of Thor grew rapidly from his physical demonstrations. The alliance leaders made exceptional note of the Asgardian Prince, while ignoring the Valkyries and the Queen who commanded every one of them. Toreii, who had long since grew bored of the physical fitness test, had asked the only native she knew for a tour. With all focus solely on the Odinson, Toreii and Vy easily snuck away from the crowd.

The streets were crowded with elves of every kind, from reclusive woodland elves to more elusive and forbidden dark elves. Although they were all racially similar, Ai could tell from just a glance of the diversity of all their cultures. From the clothes they wore, to the magic they wield, or the forwardness of their attitude, each of the different subraces had a common reason to celebrate today.

Not even given an iota of their attention, the young duo anonymously toured Vy's new and updated home. Without her tiara and personal guards, no one recognized the ex-princess as she walked by their shops. Only ever allowed to venture out into the wealthy sections of her kingdom, every shop and store she remembered there were still open. Stone and mortar stood where she used to see birds and animals outside of the areas she's used to. Feeling like a relic of the past in an age of progression and advancement, Vy was having a slight cultural shock.

Having made it past the inner ring of wealth, the two broke into the middle ring, where traders and merchants openly bargained with every passerby. Only ever been here once because she had lost her security detail, Vy led her guardian goddess to the only familiar shop she remembered.

Toreii's nose was filled with the scent of fresh baked bread as her mind relinquished control over to her stomach. The corners of her mouth threatened to spill out drool as her willpower was slowly collapsing under her mountain of hunger. Passing the bakery's window, baskets of different baked goods were showcased, lulling any hungry shopper inside.

Vy opened the door with a gentle ring of a bell, while the baker cheerfully greeted, "Welcome to Baker's Dream! How may I help… you…" The brawny elf woman who was all smiles quietly trailed off mid-sentence, easily recognizing the elven child who walked into her shop.

"Good morning!" Vy greeted back.

"P-Princess Vy! For what do I o-owe the pleasure of the Third Princess's visit?" she asked, quickly performing a kowtow. Although it was over two decades since she last stepped foot inside her bakery, any elf in the kingdom could easily recognize the family's beautiful royal children if they paid attention.

"Ahh… There is no need for bowing," Vy quickly exclaimed to not draw outside attention. "Princess Vy went missing twenty years ago. I'm just a civilian doing her shopping."

Out of fear for the ire of the royal family, the baker quickly scanned outside for any royal guards. With no obviously-dressed protectors in sight, paired with the unusual white cloth the princess wore, she rose from her respectful bow. Believing the third royal daughter to have snuck out of the castle, she still showered Vy with the respect she deserved. "I'm forever humbled the Third Princess has graced my shop for the second time!"

"Please… I'm just a normal citizen now; no formalities needed. We're here to browse your selection of bread," said Vy, trying to deescalate the situation.

Hearing no discernible ulterior motives in the royal child's voice, the middle age elf relented. Proceeding as she would with a normal customer, she was still wary of being fined later for not properly showing respect to the royal lineage. "P-Please don't hesitate to ask me if you have any questions!" She said with a nervous smile.

A tired sigh escaped Vy while she cursed the blood she inherited.

During the verbal scuffle Toreii was oblivious to, Ai had already started looking through the shelves littered with baskets upon baskets of fresh bread, still steaming, just pulled out from the oven. Each selection was different from the last, similar to the bread she found in convenience stores back in her home world, but a lot more appetizing and less doom-and-gloom with artificial preservatives. Ready to empty her entire fortune to stuff herself with nothing but gluten, she considered forgoing choice and buying everything at once.

Seeing the goddess so enwrapped with the plain selection of bread, Vy started to wonder if it was the first time the young deity had ever seen food before, theorizing the reason she's so interested in commoners' fares. Wanting to repay the kindness Toreii's family had shown her, Vy wanted to use the last of her coin, even if a simple piece of bread was the only thing she could afford.

"I-I'll pay for anything you choose, Godd- err… Toreii," said Vy, still trying to drop formalities when it was just the two of them.

Snapping back to reality and wrestling control from her primal instincts, Ai remembered to thank Vy for her generosity. Although their fortunes were not even worth comparing, she felt it was rude to decline the gesture. Instead of a lavish piece of bread stuffed with meat and decadent sauce on top, she was mindful to pick something more affordable, opting for a medium-sized loaf of warm bread.

At the counter, Vy paid with her last gold coin. The currency she held onto for so long depicted a younger portrait of her father, minted when he was first crowned king. Letting go of the last piece of her heritage, the heavy weight she felt for decades slowly lifted. Feeling truly free for the first time in her life, she declined the change and left before gaining any more attention.

Searching for a place to eat, they found shade under an oak tree not too far away. The park was devoid of visitors, as everyone packed the taverns and bars in celebration. Although Vy had intended for the gift to be solely for Toreii, the deity had broken the loaf in half in order to share. Unable to refuse a gesture from a god, the elf humbly accepted. Before she could take her first bite, worry gripped her heart when she saw the goddess softly cry out on her first taste.

Ai, who had suffered for over a month and survived on cosmic energy she did not understand, felt like she had reached Buddha-like true enlightenment. The plain bread, whose only flavoring was salt, yeast, and grain, tasted a thousand-fold better due to the nothingness she tasted every day. She was crying tears of joy after just the first bite… and soon realized the awkward situation she put the elf child in.

Wiping the tears away with the sleeve of her haori, she cleared her voice several times to regain her composure. Unable to explain the circumstances of her tears without a long backstory attached to it, Ai quickly thought of an excuse from her home world. "Sorry about that… Where I come from, there is a saying: 'A man's food is his kingdom.'" Still not used to lying on the spot yet, she thought it was the best excuse for now.

After hearing such a strange custom of the gods, Vy tried to rationalize why immortal beings used food to gauge the worth of their abode. Following the trail of thought, she remembered the heavenly, sweet piece of chocolate shared between the two not so long ago. If she were to judge the worth of Toreii's home based on the tiny delectable dessert, then the elfling _severely_ under played how great it tasted. While the goddess next to her was crying from mere store-bought plain bread, all Vy did was give Toreii her thanks and a smile.

A crushing sensation overwhelmed her again, believing this was the reason why Viridi had acted so coldly during their first encounter. She was basically devaluing the Parthenon her people took refuge in. Sinking more and more into despair because of her perceived slight to Toreii's home, all she could do was watch in horror as the deity ate the half loaf of bread with eager delight. She knew for certain now her death would be by Viridi's hand.

"Are you not hungry?" Toreii asked. The elven child was still holding onto her half as if waiting for something. Wondering if she said something she should not have earlier, Ai reassessed if there was any double entendre going on.

Fear ran through Vy now, worse than when she was on the run from her kingdom; even worse than being at the epicenter of the horde of orcs. She had disrespected her own savior — a savior who slayed _dragons_. All she could do was bow and muster all her sincerity into possibly her last few words, "Please… forgive me!"

Ai was definitely being misinterpreted **again**.

'_Nuh-uh! I'm not doing this again!'_ She quickly realized. "Vy, what did you think I meant when I said, 'A man's food is his kingdom'?" Toreii asked for clarification. She was somewhat afraid to do this with the others, but had grown to let her guard down around the child.

A jumble of thoughts rattled inside Vy's mind as she willed herself to think of what to say first. Forcing herself to speak, she explained what she could do under such distress, "I thought you meant it as being able to judge one's entire kingdom from their food. From when you shared the piece of chocolate with me… I'm sorry I did not show proper gratitude! Seeing you cry from just plain bread in my old kingdom yet… I only offered my thanks in response to yours…"

How _anyone_ could reach this line of thought, Ai would forever be mystified.

Sighing aloud, but glad she put an end to the misunderstanding before it could spiral further out of control, she realized the depths others will go to interpret her random words. As a being put atop a pedestal, mincing words had dangerous side effects. "Vy… It's just a saying, not a word of law. _**Please don't overreact**_**.** I was happy because no one had bought me bread before. Thank you."

Knowing Toreii well enough to be able to take everything she said at face value, Vy was able to settle her feelings of impending doom and painful demise. Despite the huge disparity between them in terms of… _everything_, Toreii never acted upon the fact. Although she was an absolute ruler to gods and demigods, her mannerism towards Vy was always one of an equal, never demanding worship or formal titles.

"I'm sorry for the misunderstanding and causing you to worry," apologized Vy, refraining from bowing like she normally would. "I wanted to repay you for saving me and putting up with my selfish requests… I fear I will never be able to do so now."

Although Vy spoke like their friendship was always one-sided, Toreii was still reaping the benefits of the nobility lessons the princess had given her. Since their unlikely meeting, Ai had found the courage to overcome a multitude of self-doubt problems and her fear of public speaking. Similar to how her fellow World Champions helped her, Vy was the last push she needed to become the Allfather she was expected to be.

"Friends don't count favors owed to each other. It's fine if we help one another every now and then. I don't mind, really… Just make sure my daughters don't go overboard," said Toreii, still frowning inside from the incident.

Surprised by the high regard she was seen in, Vy had assumed they were a patroness and protégé. Growing up with a royal lifestyle, she had playdates with other noble children, none of whom she would consider as close as a friend and vice versa. If she were to tell her past self the first friend she made was with a goddess at least ten millennia old, Vy would consider herself deranged.

As Nanami warped out of thin air to greet them, the unofficial recess was over.

Making their way back to the king's courtroom, the talk of the room was overwhelmingly about Thor.

* * *

**A/N:** I'll try to develop Ai's growth as a ruler in the next few chapters. Tell me what you think before things ramp up again.


	19. Chapter 19 - The King of Asgard

The Son of Asgard passed every charisma check with flying colors, naturally rolling twenties from the RNG. Charmed by his outgoing persona and shining radiance, noblewomen were bashfully having wardrobe malfunctions despite many of them being mothers or betrothed. Not even men were completely immune from falling for Thor; their warrior spirits kindled bright, feeling deep admiration for the natural-born leader.

Lady Sif diligently shadowed her husband while her fellow Valkyries ran security for the Queen of Asgard. Although both women loved Thor with every fiber of their hearts, their lovable oaf was quite oblivious to the effect he had on other women. Admitting their jealousy would no doubt hurt their pride as Asgardians, but as the next Allfather, Thor needed to learn how to gain support from other races.

Although these aptitude tests proved not only Thor own might, but also through him the might of the Allfather, Toreii still explicitly told him to hold back. Even though he was strictly forbidden to use his full strength, Thor instead channeled all his effort into enthusiasm. He was a son who sought to do great things in the name of his father, even if at times Odin did not condone or give his blessing. For the Odinson, being the paragon of righteousness weighed on his being ten times greater than his pride as an Asgardian.

The courtroom was back in session, only this time with an overabundance of ladies, human and elves, packed standing shoulder-to-shoulder, with every pair of eyes glued to the handsome hunk of Asgardian muscle. Lady Sif gently rubbed her tired eyelids as she recently learned it was possible to roll one's eyes _too much_. Although she was Thor's one and only wife, Asgardian law allowed him to take as many mistresses as he pleased. Having lost so many lives against Surtr centuries ago, every male was given permission for polygamous relations. Their fighting force needed to be bolstered as quickly as possible, but very few Asgardian men risked angering their wives.

For the greater good of Asgard, Lady Sif was willing to overlook the transgression on her marriage, but her pride as a woman would not allow her to so easily forgive and forget. Only the Allfather had the authority to sanctify their betrothal, yet she would not dare bring her personal problems to her King. She would have to ask Queen Frigga later about her matronage to Odin, and how she dealt with his other 'flings'.

Once again, Toreii and Vy were the last to enter, and once again they were ignored. Walking forward with the regality of a king, her Valkyries stood at attention while Toreii greeted the leaders again. They no longer doubted her claim of being Odin, but not because she was telling the truth, but because they trusted the charming hero she called her son. Now with the formalities out of the way, Ai had a checklist of things she needed to accomplish before they departed.

Clearing her throat to maintain their attention, she began weaving her web of lies, "I'm sure you were wondering why I came to your aid, King Nythymyr."

"Please forgive my earlier grievous mistake, King Odin. My kingdom and its people owe you a great debt," proclaimed the elven king, giving Toreii a bow of respect. "As for your reasoning for doing so, may I venture a guess? Was it not because the demihumans were pests? The deforestation caused by them will take centuries to fix alone! Only an invasive animal can destroy what had taken nature a lifetime to build, and like animals they deserved to be **slaughtered!**"

'_Okay… No need to go Fourth Reich on me here; I've heard those speeches before. Blah-blah-blah subhuman blah-blah-blah genocide is okay as long as it's not my race. You're not the only one with friends and family,' _Ai silently commented to herself. Having lived through the Neo-Nazi wars in her own world, she was no stranger to prejudice in Yggdrasil either. '_Why is this a recurring theme…'_

"No, I'm afraid not," answered Toreii flatly, somewhat annoyed, "I had owed a debt to my friend." Boldly gesturing to Vy as to not have any kind of confusion from the reacting party, "Vy wanted to help her people in any way she could, even if it meant sacrificing everything she had."

Raising an eyebrow of doubt, the elven king repeated what he heard, "A random elf you happen to meet asked you to help fight a war and you agreed? Please forgive my rudeness, King Odin, but is it not foolish to believe the words of a child? She could have just as likely been an assassin baiting you with her young appearance!"

Remembering how 50/50 it was whether her PvP opponents had qualms about attacking loli characters, Ai understood what King Nythymyr was getting at. There were dangers to assuming and judging solely on the first information retrieved. Still, she will not back down here, even in the face of someone who was centuries her senior in kingly experience. As a self-made test for herself, Toreii had to prove she was just as kingly.

"Thank you for your concerns, King Nythymyr, but in my ten millennia of world conquest, I've learned a thing or two about friends and foes. I would not be here today if not for the help from my friends. I pay back my debts, no matter what," Toreii rebutted, conjoining her own past, Odin's, and the myths surrounding her now. Her anger steadily grew as she wondered how a father could be so callous to his own daughter. "If you're asking if I had a direct involvement with _your_ war… no, I didn't; such mortal matters are too trivial for me. It was through Vy's own effort the orcs were driven back."

Ai could not outright say her daughters had wiped out the **entirety** of the orc horde. Viridi, being a stickler for perfection, knew the importance of leaking information. Although the credit for their planning and hard work would have to be given to Vy, it was better this way to keep her family's abilities a secret. After all, the Noble Sisters were created for a very specific purpose.

"You expect me to believe a weak child had turned the tide in a war against several million orcs, while an alliance with powerful magic casters failed to even keep them at bay?" He asked again, this time his voice laced with harsh undertones. "Do you have proof of this? I have seen the might of your heroic son, but _hers_?" Pointing directly at Vy, his cold stare locking onto his forsaken daughter. "She is a **failure** of a magic caster; I have seen her lack of talent first hand. Despite every available resource I have poured into her education and born from _my_ blood, Vy is worse than nothing — she is wasted space."

The court became bleak, devoid of the warmth Thor had built up. King Nythymyr's age shone through, as his voice and breath became wheezy. Every Asgardian quickly glanced around the room, avoiding direct eyesight with the elves. Frigga meekly looked to her husband with worry. The calm and aloof Allfather she had grown to love again stood stoically without giving any kind of reaction. She knew very little about Vy, but insulting a friend of Odin was akin to insulting him; very few lived long enough to insult him twice.

King's Nythymyr's health was quickly deteriorating, his light wheezing became a loud coughing fit. Before long, his hand was covered with blood from his lungs failing him. To everyone's surprise, the king's aides were not the ones to help him, but in their place, Vy had already placed herself to support her father. Too weak to swat away the child he had cast away, he felt a potion bottle enter his hands.

Normally he would have rejected any kind of potion, instead opting for natural remedies created by his people. Yet, he could not ignore the importance of the object Vy had willingly given him. King Nythymyr and his fellow leaders had bewildered looks as they each stared at the red potion in his hand. Unlike the common blue potions which can restore a being's health, legends spoke of a red potion made from the ichor of gods, with its capabilities to heal fatal wounds or even restore youth.

How a child like Vy came into possession of an imaginary, legendary item was beyond their comprehension and confused him… until he started connecting the clues. The god warrior Thor, whose strength knew no bounds, and his father who was even more powerful than him. A gift from the Asgardians would be at least on par with a gift from his own gods. Yet, his pride kept him from immediately drinking the life-saving potion.

He would have to acknowledge Vy's success without him, and that she was the hero who ended the devastating war they were losing. Accepting her help meant showing every noble he commanded he was wrong. The child he had called 'worthless' was above the things he accused her of, and even sought to save the life of the man who casted her away.

Seeing his hesitation, Toreii broke the long silence in the room, "I don't make mistakes about who my friends are, King Nythymyr. There was a time when I saw no shortage of my enemies growing. That's why I have grown to value peace and quiet above everything else. Do not misunderstand my words for compliance; I will not hesitate going to war for the sake of a friend."

Every elf, including their king, understood the legitimacy of King Odin's promise as the Asgardians looked to the young deity in admiration. While his pride made him hesitate, the fear of offending Toreii only grew fiercer by the second. Drinking the entire potion in a single gulp, he felt the years of war disappear from his body. It did not return his youth, but it cured the strain and ache his body had endured for several decades. Seeing her father's health in better shape, Vy took a step back to be by the deity's side.

While the elves were dazzled by the potency of a red potion, Toreii looked back to her daughters, "Bring in the council member," she commanded.

Thanks to Viridi's preparations and skill, she had already anticipated the need for a witness. Although the undead magic caster would have been a great prisoner to present to the alliance, she felt there's more potency in returning a familiar face. Exiting and reentering the courtroom, Nanami tightly held onto the elf prisoner she had taken from the horde army.

Loud gasps and drawn swords hummed in the courtroom as Nanami dropped off the female prisoner. Frigga, who trusted her beloved's plan to succeed, kept her anger in check, as well as the Valkyries she used to command. The awkward mood surrounding the room came to a crawling stop, as panic and hatred filled the faces of every elf present. Their king who continued to stare in total disbelief, held out trembling hands to the beautiful elf Toreii had presented.

"M-M-My… beautiful Oonya… What… What h-happened to you…? W-Were you… br-brought back from the dead?" He stuttered, looking directly at Toreii.

Mindful of the shock the king was going through, she needed to be clear about what had happened. "She only looks like your wife, King Nythymyr. This is one of the council members commanding the demons within the orc army. She's a succubus – or, more specifically, a body snatcher. Queen Oonya Nir Faeyer died twenty years ago when her body was stolen. You have my condolences. I thought it best if you could at least see her again," replied Toreii.

Freed of the cloth preventing her from speaking, the person in Oonya's body smiled dearly to the elven king. Before she could spout anything, a chilling shock ran down her backside. Glancing back, a gentle, warm smile from Viridi forced her mind into a tunnel vision. Never had she met a _creature_ so vile and unfeeling; whatever the elf-in-maid-clothing was, she did _not_ belong in the realm of mortals.

"King Odin is sp-speaking the truth! I took Oonya's b-body twenty years ago!" She confessed. After spending a week with Viridi, she knew better than to openly lie to save her own skin. The devil wearing an angel's halo had ingrained there was a fate worse than death in the succubus's mind. Beckoned by the unholy aura behind her to continue, her altered memories were spoken aloud like the gospel, "I-I was on the battlefield when the other c-council members were slain… W-We were no match for Vy's magic! She dueled our undead sorcerer and won! She killed him with a 6th-Tier spell!"

Toreii who was happily surprised by the level of cooperation from their prisoner of war, failed to notice the mortified horror stuck on the elf king's face and from his people. His war-hardened mind was unable to handle the confession he just heard, locking his face into an unnatural expression more commonly found on stroke victims.

The human prince broke the gloomy silence, speaking out of curiosity, "Would you mind fully recounting how Vy faced the orc army? We have been speculating for a while now, but all our scouts were able to inform us was the use of high-tier magic."

On cue, Toreii readily pulled out a scroll from her sleeve. Everything was going as Viridi had planned, save for the hiccup with everyone not believing her authority.

Painting a death battle between Vy and Dyfiir, it had all the clichés of a triumphant hero overcoming weakness and winning over the forces of evil. Honestly, it was more like the lackluster flavor texts of Yggdrasil's main storyline she often skimmed over. Ai contemplated how believable the story would be, but not hearing any interruptions or questions from the fidgeting nobles, she doubtfully trusted she's doing well.

Viridi, who orchestrated the story with Frigga, was proud of the show her newest pawn had displayed for the court. Similar to the brainwashing her dragon maid underwent, the elven succubus stood no chance against her memory editing. The refugees in her home were perfect test subjects for the ancient elf to perfect her skills. Acting was one thing, but to truly put up the best farce, blending truths into lies and lies into truths was the only option.

Proof of Viridi's success was apparent from the gazes piercing the former elven princess. She understandably shivered and moved closer to Toreii, since much like her own disbelief over the Allfather's might, the former aristocrats considered 6th-Tier magic to be impossible to achieve for someone so young. Viridi could only hope the young elf would keep her mouth shut and not expose the lie.

It was the bare minimum the audience would believe when seeing the remnant of Eos's reckless actions. In reality, Vy could barely wield some 4th-Tier spells. Additionally, putting the child on a pedestal diverted attention away from the Noble Sisters. Watching the crowd and monitoring their breathing and heartbeats, Viridi had to ensure the act was nothing shy of perfection to make up for her latest failure.

The sheer number of bodies in the room should make it quite stuffy, but a cold tension kept everyone from speaking their mind. Toreii's confidence rose as she finished reading at the sight of Thor nodding his head in approval. '_Yeah, that sounds reasonable'_.

In a trance, King Nythymyr focused only on the elf who used to be his wife. Toreii's fake retelling only stroked the already-burning hatred he had for the horde, but now it was coupled with a chilling sadness. In return, the succubus saw nothing but a disgusting old man craving her body, even worse than the lustful looks the demihumans gave her. Retching at the thought of having his wrinkly hands on her perfect body, she crawled closer to the adolescent goddess and prayed for protection.

"Y-You were able to teach her the 6th-Tier of magic in merely… t-ten years?" Prince Coffer asked. The heir who grew up learning nothing but swordsmanship was instantly interested in the possibility of learning magic so quickly. Coming from a kingdom where magic did not rule in any nobility circle, gaining mastery over even some 3rd-Tier spells would secure his succession.

'_More like a day and a half,'_ Ai said to herself, reminiscent of her days of grinding out levels.

However, unlike Yggdrasil, although magic worked in the same vein, leveling up did not. For the New World inhabitants, gaining levels meant putting time, effort, and gaining experience in whatever they were doing – i.e. proficiency. Whereas in Yggdrasil, Toreii would have simply created a party and Vy would join for shared experience points. Realizing the difficulties of weaving this lie any more perfectly, she was somewhat glad the job had been delegated to Viridi.

"Vy had _learned_ the 6th-Tier in just ten years," Toreii clarified, "It was due to her determination to save her people. Not many are as willing to put as much effort as she did into learning something solely for the sake of others. Is there anything else you wish to know?" asked Toreii. She hoped she had jumped through enough hoops for the aristocrats. Although she would gain more experience in a noble court, it was quite useless in an Asgardian court where nothing was the same. She started to worry about letting Thor stay so long in the New World. Any moment there could be an attack and she was sure he would not hesitate to jump immediately into the fray.

The court of nobles looked to their king for guidance, except he was still only fixated on his wife. The dwarf king shook his head in pity for his fellow comrade, while the prince took the initiative. Speaking with his full royal upbringing, "What would it cost to teach me at least the 3rd-Tier?"

Toreii, who was going to brazenly give out a random answer, forced herself to stop and think of a proper response. Blurting out, '_Your firstborn, please!'_ would have dire consequences and a negative impact on her image. Giving her answer with the due diligence an Allfather should, she spoke reasonably, "You can't buy power, Prince Coffer. What you earn will be the reward of what you put in, as you might've already known. Vy achieved the 6th-Tier so quickly because it was a matter of life and death if she didn't."

"Are you also a practitioner of magic then, King Odin? Were you Vy's teacher?" Prince Coffer asked.

Talking about magic was usually interesting for her, but in front of a court of natural-born magic casters, Ai was hesitant in divulging her knowledge. "My people are warriors from birth. Very few grow up to become magic casters. As for Vy's teacher, it would be Queen Frigga's maid," answered Toreii. After studying the backstories of her closest Asgardians, only Loki was a true magic caster by Yggdrasil's standard, so Ai was technically not lying.

The court's attention flipped between the student and her master, wondering how a 6th-Tier teacher was confined to the lowly duties of a maid. Even in a society of warriors, a single magic caster who had entered the realm of godhood within the 6th-Tier should have been revered. Their sight soon landed on Thor and his heroic warrior-like build, and they rationalized how little precedence magic would have among the Asgardians if _this_ was the standard everyone pined for.

"If that is all, I shall be leaving the rest of this war to your capable hands. Without their council members, I'm sure your alliance will be more than capable of maintaining your peace. The horde is no longer a threat," assured Toreii.

The succubus occupying Oonya's body pleaded, begging the deity to take her with them. Ignoring her silent pleas, Ai figured it was best to let the elves figure out what to do with their previous queen. Although she pitied King Nythymyr, this was a personal matter he had to deal with himself.

Not wanting to involve herself or the Asgardians in New World affairs any longer, she motioned for her Valkyries to leave. Although the prince looked at her dejectedly, Toreii's top priority was getting Thor back to Asgard. Lady Sif synchronously marched her silver warriors back the way they came, glad to leave the lustful looks these mortals were giving her husband.

Ironically, she failed to notice she received just as many onlookers herself. Well, at least they matched – neither of them realized their powerful charm on mortal eyes, pridefully standing tall as Asgard's next King and Queen. Thor, who wanted to stay longer, obeyed his father's wishes, although he did have fun showing off today.

He left under long waves of goodbye from the onlookers as if he was the hero who won their war. Some braver citizens offered the God of Thunder baskets of fruit and pastry, while the dwarves knew to give him his preferred bottles of mead – which he all accepted while wondering why he was showered with such warm hospitality. Their admiration for him only emboldened his desire to learn more about the New World, as he felt like that time when he returned from a long battle in Jötunheim.

Heimdall was on standby, using the [Bifrost] to safely teleport their party back… as well as the clearly-too-many gifts the women spread among themselves to help Thor carry them. Last to arrive, Frigga looked onward to her son with a worried face, wondering if he should be showered so affectionately by strangers. Thor had always been a good son, obedient and loyal to a fault, but he lacked the skills Frigga deemed necessary in an Allfather.

Toreii had commanded her Asgadians to return home first, promising she would arrive soon after. Teleporting herself and Vy through her elven castle, they both arrived in front of her sibling's room. Staying on the open balcony, Ai left the child alone with her sole remaining family. The deity surveyed the elven kingdom in the meantime, looking at the three rings separating the division of wealth. Even in a real-life fantasy world, the wealthy elite made sure to keep to themselves. Although she was not exactly a middle- or low-class person herself, she wondered how classes were able to form in the first place.

Asgard was unique with its economy. Sitting in her golden throne, she never once saw any homeless or struggling Asgardians. Everyone worked toward a common goal, which was the continued prosperity of their golden home. The few Asgardians who did operate with money were Odin's family, who paid for goods and services despite not collecting any taxes. Ai chalked it up to the devs messing with her from beyond the grave.

Ai had no plans for the Asgardians. They were a self-sufficient city with enough firepower to repel any guild from Yggdrasil. What did ruling over them entail for the future? The only endgame she knew for certain was Ragnarok. Her golden city was eventually supposed to be burned down by [Surtr], but having farmed the giant several dozen times for his data crystals, she pondered why any Asgardian would have trouble with him.

The only foreseeable threat she could think of were further attacks from Dragon Lords, who were powerful keepers hellbent on killing any Players on sight. She thought about indulging herself and exploring the New World to see all of its wonder and mystery. After today, however, she knew for certain it would attract unwanted attention, both from other Players transported here as well as the dragons. Ai had yet to discover why or how she and Asgard were transported, and the only lead she had was following the trail of Dragon Lords to the Dragon Emperor, but that was only asking for trouble.

Beside ensuring the Asgardians were happy and peaceful, her only other goal was to find the other World Champions. She knew for certain at least two had been transported, albeit at wildly different times. How would they react to seeing her ascend to the throne of Asgard? It would certainly make for a long story, but she found herself excited to tell any of them.

Through teary, bloodshot eyes, Vy closed the balcony doors behind her. Walking to Toreii, she quietly wept to herself along the way. Heated words were exchanged between her siblings, but nonetheless, she had said everything she ever wished to say. Back inside her elder sister's room, she heard muffled shouting continuing on without her. Despite growing up to respect and obey and love them, she found their sisterhood in a worse shape than the Noble Sisters, who apparently grew up with minimal constraints, teaching, or prejudices.

Other than offering a handkerchief, Toreii left the matter alone. In what could be the last time she saw the New World, she still had a single place to visit before returning to Asgard forever. Using her magical sigils, the deity warped them to a rocky mountain terrain. Devoid of vegetation, everything she could see was in grayscale. Dark clouds blocked any direct sunlight, locking the region in perpetual semi-darkness.

Making sure Vy was steady with her footing, Toreii looked for the familiar place Viridi had described to her. When the ancient elf probed through Gratia's memories, she found the place where the Niflheim World Champion was slain. Blast marks and giant craters left in the mountainside showed the ferocious battle to the death between Dragon Lord and Player.

Pulling a bouquet of roses from her sleeve, Toreii chose a flat slope to place them on. Her only regret thus far was not being able to see her fellow World Champion again. Although unintentional at first, she had avenged her friend's death. The hydra was nothing more than a severed head now, but it did little to stifle her anger for losing one of her only friends. Clasping her hands together, Ai offered a silent prayer, hoping he had returned to their world instead of dying forever.

For the first time, Ai felt an overwhelming pull on her heart. She had no real friends in real life, only colleagues, coworkers and students. Ai did not know how to deal with loss, especially from someone close. She felt for sure the other World Champions would not advocate for further violence. Their teachings and higher morals did wonders for opening her mind up to all the hate humans were capable of, as well as all the good they could achieve. Among them, the champion of Álfheim had the strongest sense of justice, similar to Thor's. He would have left matters as it were – as the champion of Niflheim had been avenged, there was no need to look for an unwarranted fight.

However, just like their original world, not everything was as black-and-white as he made it out to be. Ai had discovered this first-hand when she transferred her character over. Ideals and conviction were great to talk about, but they were nothing in the face of reality. Torn at first on what to do with the second life she was given, Ai finally made up her mind. If she were to encounter any of the other World Champions, they would surely be disappointed with her decision today.

Always being the black sheep among them, she would sully her hands so the others would not have to.

'_Sorry, everyone. I couldn't be the good person you all thought I was… but I guess I never was in the first place. I'm going to make sure no one else dies because of these Dragon Lords; I swear on my life. I hope you can forgive me. Everything people have said about me is true… I am a terrible person. Still, I want to thank you for believing in me and the brief time we had together. I really, really, __**really**_ _enjoyed it… and will treasure it always. I hope we can all still see each other one day.'_

A rainbow of light broke through the dark clouds, engulfing the duo, teleporting them back to Asgard.

**A/N:** I hope you liked the direction I'm taking with Ai and her personal goal. If you have any feedback about her, please let me know.


	20. Chapter 20 - Sons of Asgard

Nanami followed her mother's orders to a T. Leaving no stone left unturned, she searched through historical records from several dozen human cities for any mention of powerful dragons. When official documents were not enough, she silently took to the streets, eavesdropping on anything related to dragons. The gems her mother had given away so long ago were scattered across the region, allowing Nanami to start new leads if a trail went cold.

Doing as best as she could, she also had started mapping out the region. Unable to read or write the language the natives used, she tried her best to get by on passing conversations. Thus far, her only results were fables and folklore… and nothing else. Human civilization did very little to expand beyond their immediate comforts. These were not the results she wanted to show her mother, but the deity had advised Nanami to be cautious and patient.

Cloaked in darkness and out of sight, she was nothing more than a phantom passing by. With a laundry list of things to accomplish, she was happy to carry out her mother's wishes as silently as possible. Unlike the legends the Dragon Lords had created for themselves, Nanami would not leave anything of herself to be discovered.

Copying official charters and maps of each city every chance she got, Nanami became the information broker her mother needed. Slowly but surely, she began learning the New World language, even if it meant understanding a single letter at a time. She was sure Viridi would be able to process the language even faster than she could, but for now, only Nanami was permitted to venture out into the New World.

A month had passed after her mother's visit to the elven kingdom, but since then, the capital city – more specifically, the royal palace – had descended into political anarchy. New fractions had formed against the current king, and his family was struggling to deal with the return of their queen. Using the silent civil war to her advantage, Nanami had no trouble accessing their archives and national library.

Thanks to her eldest sister, Nanami knew the in-and-out of their entire kingdom from the memories of the king's daughters. The long reigning monarch had kept a well-organized history of his kingdom, going as far back as his forefathers. Unlike with the human kingdoms, Nanami had to take her time shifting through all the scrolls and tomes of the elven kingdom due to their length.

Utilizing her perfect memory, she quickly read through every document she could get her hands on within their archives. Even among the long and extensive history kept by the elves, accounts of dragons and dragon-related events were few and far between. Just like the humans, even a race of magically-inclined elves made sure to keep away from dragons. In the New World, dragons were considered beings who deserved reverence.

The thought of _anyone_ beside her mother being worshiped irked her deep inside.

Ever since the disrespectful display the elves put on for Toreii, Nanami had begun harboring a soft hatred for the New World natives. Anyone who doubted her mother's claim to greatness and power deserved nothing less than death. Yet, for all the insolence she was made to put up with, Toreii was still capable of showing compassion and mercy to mortals. Proud to be her daughter, Nanami promised herself she would work endlessly until she dropped dead, in a manner representative of her mother's boundless grace.

Finishing the tome she was reading, she put it back just as she found it. Carrying out the perfect crime, Nanami continued her espionage in their archives. The new few days will be nothing but studying the musty old scrolls and books, locked away to never see light again. For anyone else, insanity would have taken hold by now, but for Nanami, she did not mind the solitude, especially when it coincided with her mother's wishes.

Nanami hoped her older sisters were faring as well as she was.

* * *

A quiet month had passed since the Asgardians visited the New World, but Toreii feared it might have been a mistake to allow them to leave at all. Slowly gliding through the air thanks to [Gungnir], the young deity followed the stone path from her castle to the garden in the back. Ever since they came back, Ai had observed Thor meeting with Heimdall more and more, asking the vanguard about the New World. Just as she suspected, the Son of Asgard had requested for a private talk, but coming into it, Ai already knew what he wanted to ask her.

Coming into view, Thor waved to her from underneath a wooden gazebo. Surrounding them were row upon row of neatly groomed flowers, blooming like the first day of spring. Having visited the garden many times before, Ai was curious about the plants due to her never once seeing it in her real world. Now with the game becoming real, she added to her to-do list to gather the trivial knowledge first-hand.

Protected in his war armor, Thor's warrior stature was still overly imposing and alien among a field of peaceful flowers. Greeting his father respectfully, the God of Thunder was visibly struggling to contain his excitement, immediately asking, "Father, there is something on my mind lately. All I've been able to think about is this 'New World' we have been transported to."

Right away, Ai began cautiously devising her counterattack. The New World was a dangerous place, especially since she found out a World Champion had been killed. Although none of the World Champions could put up a 'fight' against Thor, the Dragon Lords possessed magic Ai had never seen before. She feared their unknown magic, combined with Thor's absurdly high base stats, could lead to the complete destruction of all life if a fight ever broke out.

"I'm sure Asgard has nothing to worry about with you as its champion," said Toreii, reminding him of his duty. She had to be careful about the wants and needs of the NPCs, having learnt a hard lesson from her daughters.

Nodding his head, he agreed with his father's words, but he feared Odin had misunderstood what he was trying to say. "It's not _just_ Asgard's safety I am worried about, Father. Your wisdom and strength have protected our city for eons, and I will cherish the day I can take over your burden. However, until then, I do not see my powers needed in Asgard. Every day, in this 'New World', there are monsters who terrorize and decimate civilization, like those orcs. I… I wish to lend these denizens my strength."

Fearing this exact conversation since Yggdrasil stopped only being a game, Ai was hesitant to immediately shut down Thor's wishes. She saw the aftermath of not paying enough attention to her children and locking them inside a singular city. Ai would set them on a path of developing social skills just as keen as her own — which was admittedly **none**. With no dialogue menu and multiple-choice options to help her form a response, she had to carefully craft the proper words for her son.

Tiredly sighing and taking a seat in the gazebo, Toreii acted like she really was ten millennia old. "I know; I've been waiting for you to ask me about this for some time now. There hasn't been a day where I thought about saying 'no' and ending this matter altogether."

Thor was pleasantly surprised by his father's honesty, as he was ready to continue persisting for the next year or so just for Odin's blessing. He had thought about defying his father's wishes and helping the natives regardless of Odin's approval, as he was sure it would benefit Asgard in the end. Hearing such open-mindedness was something he did not expect today.

"You are the next Allfather, Thor. This burden and duty are something I'm sure have weighed in your mind when you decided you want to help the natives. Asgard has indeed seen a long peace since we came to his New World, and there is no threat of war with the other realms anymore. Even if the Odin Sleep is necessary, I'm sure I can defend our home no matter the enemy. So, I'm sure you're wondering why I haven't already said 'yes'?" Toreii quizzed.

Thor nodded hesitantly, realizing the extent of his father's omniscience.

"Tell me, as the Odinson, how would you help these natives?" Toreii questioned, giving Thor the chance to defend himself.

Slow to answer, the Asgardian Prince gazed at the floor in contemplation. Giving him all the time he needed, Ai took the chance to enjoy the beauty of the golden city. Only ever seeing real flowers through books and media, it was surreal to be surrounded by a seemingly infinite amount of them within reach. Their floral scent occupied every space of air since she entered the garden, circulated by the artificial winds created by the devs. If she had no other duties, Ai would have happily spent the rest of her days enjoying the exquisite utopia the devs worked so hard to create.

"I will help the oppressed; those who are waiting for a great hero to appear," answered Thor after several minutes. His father's inattentive gaze silently spoke, '_Is that all?'_, forcing him to elaborate, "From your example, my strength can help save the lives of millions."

"My example was to give the elven child a means to defend her people. I did not fight their war for them," remarked Toreii, secretly guilty for using the fake story in her defense against Thor. Thus, she was glad only Frigga knew the whole truth about the elves.

Seeing the glaring hole in his argument, Thor started up a new line of thought, "I shall defend the defenseless. If my reign as the Allfather is to be a peaceful one, then the land must know of my heroics; a champion of the people."

"_Who_ are the defenseless, Thor?" Toreii asked, without any hint of dismissiveness. This time, she showed her cynical and pragmatic side from being born to a failing dystopia ruled by mega corporations and faux government.

Unsure of how to answer or what his father was referring to, Thor gave the only response he knew, "People who can't fight for themselves, or don't have the strength to fight back. When monsters attack, and they have to sacrifice one of their own so everyone else can run away, I will be there so there is no need for a loss of life."

At such a black and white answer, she could not help but let out a sigh. Beckoning for him to take a seat right beside her, she was reminded of the platinum knight among her World Champion friends, as his ideals were almost identical to Thor's own. Justice and righteousness made a good man, but good men were so rarely winners.

"If a thief steals a loaf of bread, would you stop the thief?" Toreii gently asked.

"Of course! Breaking the law is unforgivable," answered Thor immediately.

Having predicted the Odinson did not ask for further context, it confirmed her deepest worries, "If a mother steals a loaf of bread so her child doesn't starve tonight, would you still stop her?"

His mind began wrapping around what his father was hinting at, so Thor offered a rebuttal, "I would give her some of my bread. Thievery hurts everyone involved."

"For the rest of her life? For the rest of her child's life? In every city and every town?" She questioned, careful to not raise her voice. Seeing Thor develop a slight frown, Ai knew the oaf did not think very far ahead. "Will you uphold the law, or will you defend the people?"

"The law is just as important as the people it defends," argued Thor, unable to take a side.

"And if the law puts a man to death for stealing food to keep himself alive, who is the law defending? If a law strips a being of their rights, are you no longer obliged to defend them? Upholding the law and helping people — their paths will cross, but they will _never_ run parallel."

"Then I will change the law! Even if I don't know much about ruling now, will spending time with the natives not teach me how to be a proper Allfather?" Thor argued. His thoughts were racing, trying to keep up and think about what his father wanted from him. These topics were usually things Loki occasional spoke about, which made him regret not paying more attention to his brother in the past.

"In this New World, the authority of the Allfather is solely applicable within the walls of Asgard. Unless you conquer this world by force and bloodshed, your desire to change the law holds as much weight as a commoner. Starting a conquest to end the suffering of the defenseless is a quest for only a hypocrite. Therein lies the start of your problems, my son," eulogized Toreii.

Gone was the usual upbeat and enthusiastic Thor, and slumping in his place was a man who felt his hammer was getting heavier and heavier. Although he was sure he gave none of the proper answers his father wanted, or showed the capability to think above the problems like Loki, the Allfather had yet to deny his wish to help the natives. "So, if you knew I would fail, why did you not tell me 'no' earlier, Father?"

"Because you need to learn how evil and cruel a society can be. Even if we spoke for a decade, I wouldn't be able to tell you how to solve every possible problem imaginable. However, I can give you the means to learn how to solve these problems yourself," she explained, hoping Thor did not become too discouraged.

Originally believing he was exactly as his father, Thor did not know how to process the eerie shift in demeanor. Seeing more and more of how Loki conducted himself in Odin's presence now, he realized how much peace had changed his father. Consideration for everyone, from serf to noble, was the main concern for the Allfather. Even though they were transported to a new world, Odin did not start any war or conflict, instead pondering about the betterment of his people.

"Forgive me, Father. As the Odinson, I have failed to see your intentions and carry out your will. I rescind my earlier wishes-"

She halted his apology with her hand, because she needed Thor to grow beyond what the devs had programmed, "I will send you to the New World, Thor, but under strict conditions. You are correct in saying that learning more about these natives can help you become a better Allfather, but I fear you are very naive about certain things. Your mother has told me her fears about you for quite some time now."

A bit hurt his own mother did not even believe in him to the extent of speaking about it outright to his father, Thor felt the crushing sensation of his confidence hitting rock bottom. Remembering all the conversations with Loki he dismissed so casually, he would have to offer a sincere apology later. "I'm sorry I have disappointed you, Father."

Glad she diverged from the path of King Nythymyr and Vy, Ai hoped with all her being she was doing the right thing. There were great dangers in the New World; if Players and guild bases were indeed transported over, then their World-Class Items were just as likely to make an appearance sooner or later. As she now was the sole proprietor of the dev room with no oversight whatsoever, the thought of opening the vault to every World-Class Item to cheat every problem crossed her mind many times.

The temptation was great, and the power she gained would actually make her omnipotent, yet the consequences would be worse than opening a dozen Pandora's boxes. She did not fear Thor losing a battle against a Dragon Lord, since the Asgardian had the stats of all twelve World Champions combined and was equipped from head to toe in Divine-Class gear — he merely lacked 'street smarts'.

Taking every opportunity to learn something, she hoped Thor would follow suit. Seeing Vy on the verge of tears from talking with her father, Ai learned what not to do to her own children. Despite only promising how to teach her how to act royal, the ex-princess also taught her the importance of being a reliable parent. Wishing nothing but the best for the elven child from here on out, Toreii conversed with Thor on their way back to the castle.

* * *

Loki's day had begun normally enough: breakfast and brunch with a couple of nobles. Unexpectedly, the favored Odinson had shown up out of nowhere, sobbing and incoherently apologizing for things they had previously talked about. Startled and bewildered, but mostly startled, Loki retreated to his secret laboratory and took up his brother's usual pastime: day drinking.

Unfortunately for the God of Mischief, the drowning of his woes with alcohol was interrupted by a soft knocking. He froze in place, bottle of champagne in one hand and a wine glass in another. No one should have known about his secret home away from home. Every day, he made sure to keep his tracks clean from Heimdall's all-encompassing vision, yet the audacity of the person knocking was what shocked him most.

"Loki, I'm respecting your privacy by knocking, but I'm asserting my authority as your father by coming in anyway!"

The second son refused his natural instinct to look behind him as he heard the quiet creaking of the door opening and shutting. Decades of planning had been ruined by the being who walked into his room, and now his last secret was all but uncovered. With nothing left for him to do, Loki resumed pouring himself a tall glass of champagne.

"We should install a vent in here, it's so musty," commented Toreii as she eyed the room up and down. Knowing the importance of a person's personal clutter, she did not move or clean up the small stack of books and scrolls sitting on the table. Looking around for a pair of reptilian eyes, she found a curled-up snake glaring at her from a shelf.

His hands wildly trembled as Loki struggled to keep his drink from spilling before he could get a single sip. Right beside him was Odin's war armor he stole not so long ago in plain view, as well as the scepter from the elves of Álfheim. Loki now felt the entirety of his life has been nothing but a cruel joke for Odin to entertain himself with, especially since coming to the New World, the Allfather had done nothing but humiliate him at various turns.

At least now he could finally get the sweet release of death.

From her bottomless sleeves, Toreii procured a terrarium, setting it beside the cautious World Serpent. Although Loki allowed his snake free roam within the room, Ai did not want him losing his pet again. Jörmungandr peered through the glass, seeing the terrarium already filled with rocks and heat lamps, a natural shelter fit for any reptile. Having done as much research as she could, Ai wanted to do something nice for her other son, as she did not want Thor to get too much attention.

Respectful and patient, she eagerly awaited for the tiny snake to slither into its new habitat. Albeit slow, Jörmungandr settled himself inside the glass enclosure. Feeling the warmth of the heat lamps, it was a nice change from the chill of the stone castle. He carefully turned to face his grandfather, the Allfather wide-eyed like a small child watching their favorite animal do simple tricks.

"Are you doing well, Loki? We haven't talked since the meeting with the nobles. Ahh, I'm sorry I brought it up then, but it looks like you found your pet snake. I brought him a terrarium! Now, you don't have to worry about losing him! And all the sand! I hear sand is good for reptiles with scales," exclaimed Toreii.

Growing up in a world where animals were only pictures in books to her, Ai was giddy in watching the little snake make streaks in the sand as it cleaned its scales. None the wiser about everything else in the room, her fixation caused Ai to forget about Loki… and the stolen equipment was as good as invisible to her. Although she would have liked to continue watching Jörmungandr, it would have been poor taste to continue ignoring her other son.

Pulling a chair beside him, Toreii patted Loki on the back like the way she imagined a good father should. After spending countless hours with her daughters, Ai needed some simplicity in her life with her sons. As both Thor and Loki were well-behaved thus far, she thought it best to reward them for obeying her nation-wide command to keep within Asgard. Without much history with the God of Mischief, Ai thought it best to give a gift he could use every day.

"I'm not sure if Thor has told you yet, but I've given thought to having him mature in this New World. He's a good boy, but he can be very… naive at times. There are things which I cannot teach him here, confined only in Asgard, but sending him off alone into the unknown has just as much cause for concern. You're definitely a lot smarter than your brother, Loki," said Toreii, complimenting her second son.

Not expecting to hear such kind words from his personal tormentor, Loki almost choked while sipping on possibly his last drink. Despite proof of his treachery in clear view right next to the offended, Odin praised Loki's brilliance instead of executing him right then and there. His mind swirled in a vortex of self-doubt and pessimism. As his father continued to ignore the stolen armor, he also prolonged the gut-wrenching agony Loki silently endured.

Unable to withstand such soul-crushing torment, he weakly pointed a finger to draw Odin's attention to his grievous mistake. While the Allfather finally took notice of his prized war armor, Loki finished his glass… as well as the rest of the bottle. The inrush of alcohol did not have the proper time to slur his thoughts yet. Wondering if he will be numbed enough when Odin smote him, all he could wish for now was a quick death.

From personal experience, Loki knew the horrors the enemies of Asgard faced, but even worse were the special punishments given to individuals on Odin's personal hit list. He had always been careful to stay as far as he could on the other side of the Allfather's wrath, but today would most definitely be his last. Jörmungandr was ten eons too young to be swallowing any worlds, and Loki was all out of plans.

Pausing her praise, Toreii found the pieces of Odin's armor lying next to the elven scepter. The first time she put on the war armor back in Yggdrasil, Ai distinctly remember it being unfinished. After equipping the entire set and checking her HUD, there were no visible stat changes or special abilities unlocked on her hotbar. It had seemed the devs never intended to finish Odin's special armor, and thus it was nothing more than a special decor for Ai. She had hoped it was finished before the servers shut down, but even in the New World, the shiny gold set was nothing more than a glowing eye candy.

Although originally in the armory among the endless shelves of Uru ingots, it had seemed Loki had found it and wanted her to be aware of it again.

'_Am I supposed to wear the armor when I'm in Asgard?'_ Ai wondered. Beside the [Allfather] levels and [Gungnir], her resemblance to Odin ended there. She could wear it, but it would require her to unequip her World Champion armor, leaving her unoptimized should a fight ever break out in Asgard. Even if the odds of Asgard being successfully invaded were next to zero, it was not _perfectly_ zero.

Donning the armor could improve her standings with the Asgardians over time since all the NPCs gained sentience, but it created a huge risk for her. Weighing the pros and cons heavily in her mind, Ai decided it was best to have someone else wear the armor. Speaking softly, she looked to Loki, "I don't have any need for the armor anymore. You can have it if you wish. I'm sure you can make use of it better than I can."

Hearing the blatant indifference from the being next to him, Loki confirmed his father was no longer 'Odin'. A national treasure to be worn by only the Allfather during times of war… and it was treated as nothing more than a gift for a second prince. He can understand if it was Thor, but…

Throughout his conquest of all nine realms, the protective gold never once left the Allfather's body, yet here it was, gifted to Loki as a hand-me-down.

Shaken to his core and his world turned upside down, Loki carefully evaluated the importance of being given the armor… and whether or not this was a test or a trap. "A-Are you tr-truly fine with g-giving me the armor?!" Loki suttered, choking out every word.

Nodding her head and giving a bright smile, Toreii answered, "It will serve you better than it had served me. Ahh~… I almost forgot. I have an assignment for Thor in the New World, and I would like you to accompany him. My biggest fear is someone taking advantage of his trusting nature, so I'm trusting _you_ to set him straight. Seeing you mingle with the nobles every day, I'm certain of your ability to see a lie from a mile away. Please watch over your brother for me."

He desperately wanted to reject the notion.

Wide-eyed and stuttering all of his next words, what he originally dreamed of hearing Odin say was in reality a nightmare to live through. Unable to rely on his natural brilliance he once thought of as unparalleled, he stammered unknowingly similar to what his brother did earlier today. Perhaps Thor got a talk from Odin just as he did; if so, then Loki would understand why the Odinson was an emotional wreck.

Loki prayed for his father to return to normal and _predictable_.

* * *

A few miles out of the nearest human city, an unlikely trio stood out; clearly, they did not belong. Two brothers dressed to appear inconspicuous, yet their attire had the opposite effect. Endowed with godhood, their daunting figures stood at twice of Nanami's height. Unlike her, however, they believed their disguises worked.

The youngest Noble Sister understood her mother's wishes well enough. While she sought information through underground methods, the two brothers would publicly join the adventurer's guild. Perhaps with enough reputation, they would be assigned missions pertaining to dragons. Her mother's plan was simple enough, but she knew for certain just by looking at their demeanors the Asgardians had egos which would not allow for any kind of subtlety.

Given explicit permission to abandon them if their actions jeopardized her safety, even her mother knew better than to expect the brothers to behave all the time. Nanami hid her tired sigh with the sleeve of her haori. Had it just been her gathering information on her own, she was sure she'd home by half a year's time. Now, however, her mission also included babysitting two grown manchildren with world-destroying magic under their belts, thus extending her mission to possibly a whole year.

Keeping these thoughts to herself, she showed the Asgardians to the closest city. They had been briefed about their own assignments, but Thor and Loki clearly were not privy to her own. Noting the reaction the elves gave Thor, Nanami had no doubt the duo will advance through the ranks up to adamantite within a month. Their presence was going to attract everyone's attention, including cautious suspicion from other powerful beings. Trying to follow her mother's line of reasoning, Nanami was sure the Asgardians were nothing more than big pieces of bait to draw out the Dragon Lords.

As two of the most powerful beings in all of Asgard, they could no doubt kill any Dragon Lord with ease, but she was worried about extrapolating the information before they did so. It just meant she would have to work extra hard not to fail her mother. Although she saw Toreii being merciful when faced with her older sisters' failure, spying on the Dragon Lords was leagues more important and dangerous than fumbling over some random elves and their politics.

"Aren't you excited, Loki?!" A bright and cheerful Thor asked. His usual Asgardian armor was covered by a beige poncho, while Loki was similarly disguised in dark green.

Clearly, his chirpiness indicated he didn't notice the dark bags under Loki's bloodshot eyes. While the God of Thunder was overzealous as always, the God of Mischief merely looked onward, stiff like an effigy. "Why would I be excited?" He mumbled under his breath.

"It's a new realm, brother! Unexplored and unknown to Asgard! There could be a million new things we can do here," Thor excitedly explained. Barely able to restrain himself from making a mad dash to the city walls, he let his inner child shone through.

"Hooray… We're going to have so much fun…" replied Loki monotonously. Exhausted in body and mind, he felt it too painful to even roll his eyes at the Odinson. The still-functioning parts of his mind questioned how Thor could just pack up his bags and abandon his newlywed so easily.

"That's the spirit!" Thor said, unaware and oblivious.

Watching and hearing their exchange continue on until they had reached the city limits, Nanami made silent bets inside her mind. Because she had no social skills herself, the quiet girl knew for certain the brothers would not make it far before arousing unwanted suspicion. Like the two halves of a coin, the brothers were stuck together… and whom Nanami unfortunately had to observe and report on.

Nanami returned to the shadows behind Thor and Loki as they all entered the city.

* * *

**A/N:** Some development before more Dragon Lords business. I hope you like Thor's and Loki's growth.


End file.
